More than half of the £4bn of transactions in the UK hotel market that took place in 2021 were completed in the final three months of the year.
New figures from Knight Frank show that 52% of transactions completed in Q4, highlighting returning confidence in the market as the UK began its move out of the pandemic.
The new love for staycationing helped boost regional markets, with some 46% of transactions in coastal, rural or private estate settings.
Single asset sales were particularly popular, with 150 individual assets sold for around £1.9bn. This is a 58% increase in the number of assets sold compared with 2019, and a 46% increase in transaction volume. It was the busiest year for single asset sales since 2015, which was a record-breaking year for hotel transactions, said Knight Frank.
Henry Jackson, the agency’s head of hotels, said: “With the setback of the Omicron variant having now passed, the strong flurry of transactional activity that occurred during the final quarter of 2021 is expected to continue in the months ahead.
“Investment is being lured by an extended period of uninterrupted trading in 2022, improving debt markets and attractive sector diversification, with best-in-class assets offering strong liquidity and competition in the market.”
The firm said it expect total volumes for 2022 to reach £5bn.
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