Brookfield has exchanged contracts to buy Oaktree Capital Management’s serviced apartment business, SACO, for around £430m.
Brookfield placed the business under offer in October last year, and fought off competition from other investors – including Mapletree and Invesco – for the opportunity.
This is Brookfield’s first foray into the serviced apartment sector, and is the largest serviced apartment investment deal in the UK to date.
The deal includes all the existing real estate and development pipeline of the SACO business as well as its online operating platform.
The business has 39 operational assets throughout the country, nine of which are freehold and operated by the design-led “lifestyle” Locke brand that aims to appeal to millennials. The remainder are leased assets and branded as SACO.
Additionally, there are more than 900 rooms in SACO’s development pipeline that will be owned freehold and branded Locke once they are completed. As well as one site in Manchester and three in London, this includes an international expansion to Dublin and Amsterdam.
SACO’s online platform is also included in the package – an Airbnb-style agency that serves third-party private owners and other serviced apartment businesses. It hosts a further 900 apartments across the UK, as well 30,000 rooms globally.
Eastdil Secured advised Oaktree; JLL and KPMG acted for Brookfield.
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