MinterEllison has advised long-term client, Salter Brothers, on its acquisition of the Travelodge hotel portfolio from Mirvac and NRMA for $620 million. The portfolio consists of 11 hotels, with 2032 midscale hotel rooms across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Newcastle.

The acquisition is the first investment by Salter Brothers Hospitality Real Estate – a newly established ~$1.5 billion real estate joint venture fund backed by two large scale property investors, GIC and Partners Group. The new fund was formed this year to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the hospitality sector in Australia, with Salter Brothers to act as the trustee, investment manager and asset manager of the fund and its underlying investment assets.

MinterEllison assisted Salter Brothers with all aspects of the fund establishment, Travelodge portfolio acquisition and hotel operator workstreams, including corporate, property, tax, IP, hotel management arrangements, construction, planning, finance and FIRB.

MinterEllison Partner Alice Langham said the deal was a strong example of the Firm's full-service industry expertise and multijurisdictional capability

"We're proud to have had the opportunity to support Salter Brothers on the establishment of their new fund, and its first investment – which is one of the largest hotel real estate transactions to be undertaken in the Australian market."

"This was a complex transaction, and one that highlights Salter Brothers' optimism for the Australian hospitality market, following a challenging 18 months for the sector."

Foreign Investment Review Board approval has been granted in respect of the transaction and settlement of the Travelodge portfolio is expected to complete by the end of 2021.

The MinterEllison team was led by Joseph Pace (Partner), Andrea Frank (Partner) Alice Langham (Partner) and John O’Connell (Special Counsel) with support from Brad Woods (Senior Associate), Samantha Blissenden (Associate), Julia Riley (Associate), Jordan Law (Lawyer) and Vincent Lau (Lawyer). The core team also drew on the Firm's expertise in Finance, Tax, Foreign Investment, Construction, Intellectual Property, Employment, Litigation, Environment and Planning, Property.

These transactions follow MinterEllison's work advising Salter Brothers in 2015 on its $520 million acquisition of a large hotel portfolio, including the InterContinental Melbourne, from Eureka – the largest Australian hotel real estate transaction undertaken in the Australian market at that time. These assets are owned by the fund-branded, Salter Brothers Hotel Group which has since expanded to seven hotels and over 2,100 rooms managed by InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt International.