Latest news: Certares, TMGOC add in Florida; Sage adds Marriott apartment; Ares closes $3.3B fund

Certares, TMGOC acquire in Florida. A joint venture between New York City-based Certares and Boca Raton, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina-based TMGOC Ventures has acquired the 141-key The Ray Hotel in Delray Beach, Florida, from Delray Beach-based Menin Development for an undisclosed price. The Ray opened in September 2021 and was added to the Curio Collection by Hilton brand. At the time, Menin Development secured $86 million in refinancing for the hotel. The company first purchased the land for the project for $26.6 million. Since launching its real estate platform in 2021, Certares has acquired 14 hotels across the U.S. TMGOC Ventures has over $1 billion in existing and development pipeline investment.

Sage adds in Marriott apartment. Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group is partnering with Wilmington, North Carolina-based Tidal Real Estate Partners to add the 157-key The Ann Savannah to Sage’s portfolio of lifestyle properties. The property is scheduled to complete its conversion and will join the Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy brand by early 2025, which will be one of the first Apartment by Marriott projects in the U.S.

Ares closes $3.3B fund. Los Angeles-based Ares Management Corp. has closed its latest fund, the $3.3 billion Ares U.S. Real Estate Opportunity Fund IV, LP, to invest in opportunistic real estate in the U.S. This marks the largest Ares Real Estate closed-end fundraise to date and is a significant increase from the $2.2 billion of commitments raised for the predecessor fund and related transaction vehicles. The fund’s current portfolio includes the recent $1.07 billion purchase of the Hyatt Regency Orlando with Houston-based Rida Development, which is the largest single-asset hotel transaction in 2024. In July 2023, the fund provided preferred equity for the conversion of 55 Broad Street in New York City’s financial district, which is one of the largest office-to-residential conversions in the city’s history. Ares oversees approximately $52 billion in assets under management in the U.S. and Europe.

Peachtree gets EB-5 funding again. Atlanta-based Peachtree Group has received its I-956F approval from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that oversees the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, for the firm’s currently under construction TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Palmdale, California. This is the second hotel development for which Peachtree has received I-956F approval, having previously secured it for its Home2 Suites by Hilton development in Boone, North Carolina. Peachtree launched its EB-5 program in 2023.

Largest Asia deal in 2024. Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund FIC has sold the 1,052-room Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk in Japan to Toyko-based Mizuho Leasing Co., the largest hotel deal in Asia by room count in 2024. It has been speculated that GIC had sought as much as $617 million for the property when it started marketing the asset last year.

Historic Edinburgh building converting. Construction has begun on the historic Jenners Building in Edinburgh, Scotland, which will turn the property into a mixed-use development that will include a 90-key boutique hotel on its upper floors. The Jenners Building, which first opened in 1895, is owned by Denmark-based AAA United.

Agatha Christie island, hotel is off market. An island and hotel with links to Agatha Christie, which was put on the market for £15 million, has been withdrawn from sale. According to the BBC, the move comes despite receiving attractive offers for Burgh Island, where Christie based two of her novels. The island, which was sold in 2018 for about £8.4 million, includes a white art deco hotel where Christie stayed.  

IHG adds Indigo in the Middle East. IHG Hotels & Resorts is adding the first Hotel Indigo in the Middle East, the 173-key Hotel Indigo Jabal Akhdar Resort & Spa in Oman. IHG has over 158 Hotel Indigos open worldwide, with an additional 133 in the pipeline.