Melbourne-based property investment firm SB&G Hotel Group has announced the Watermark Hotel and Spa Gold Coast, which is due to settle on or around 19 June 2018, will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) under its new, upscale hotel brand, ‘voco’.
The Gold Coast hotel is the first signing of the voco brand globally, which was unveiled in London yesterday.
SB&G Hotel Group Managing Director, Paul Salter, said: “As a long-standing partner, we are excited to be working with IHG to launch its new global brand in Australia.
“As we expand into Queensland, we look forward to our continued growth with IHG, given the synergies with our existing portfolio of hotels across Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, which we acquired in December 2015.”
The settlement of the property moves SB&G Hotel Group closer to its stated target of AUD$1 billion of assets and adds scale and geographic diversification to its Australian Hotels Portfolio.
Following completion of the Watermark acquisition, IHG will operate six SB&G Hotel Group properties in Australia, including InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, Crowne Plaza Melbourne, Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach, Crowne Plaza Canberra and Holiday Inn Potts Point – Sydney.
IHG will initially roll out voco in IHG’s Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA) region, with plans to take it to the Americas and Greater China regions over time.
IHG Managing Director – Australasia & Japan, Leanne Harwood, said: “We are thrilled that Watermark Gold Coast will be the first global signing for the voco brand, and even more so that it is with a great partner like SB&G.
“We look forward to building on the success of this hotel, along with some additional voco flair to create a hotel with a bold, distinctive identity,” she said.
The 388-room hotel is due to transition to the voco flag in late 2018 and SB&G said there would be no changes of employment for Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast staff.