Property agent sees global hotel sales stall

Property agent Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels has seen a 76% plunge in global transactions.

The group reported $13.9b (£11m) worth of global hotel transactions in the first half of 2008, but said this was more than three-quarters lower than the same period a year earlier.

By region the largest drop was in the Americas, which fell by 81%. Asia Pacific was second with a fall of 67% and transactions in EMEA slipped 59%.

Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels Global chief executive Arthur de Haast said the group was still "cautiously optimistic" about the future of hotel investments over the medium term.

Haast said: "At $13.9b hotel investment volumes are now at a level comparable to that of 2004, which similarly recorded $14b worth of transactions within the first half of the year."

With the credit crunch having choked of the previously ready supply of cheap debt, the property agent said it had seen a corresponding fall in the size of transaction taking place with the majority less than $100m (£78.9m).

In comparison in 2007 there were 12 portfolio sales valued at more than $1b (£789m).

Graham Dodd, senior vice president at Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels, said that UK transactions were down "quite considerably" as well.

"If our company focussed solely on sales in the UK market right now it would be a very tough time. You can almost count the amount of transactions on one hand," said Dodd.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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