A hotel acquisition in New Zealand is the second-largest deal in the country in 2025.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based YTL Hotels has acquired the 225-room Hotel Indigo Auckland, for 160 million New Zealand dollars ($92.4 million) or $411,000 per room. The seller, according to CoStar, is Auckland’s NFF NZ Operations Pty Ltd. The Hotel Indigo Auckland was that firm’s sole hotel property.
The New Zealand Overseas Investment Office approved the acquisition last month, and YTL has signed a 25-year management contract to operate the hotel with IHG Hotels & Resorts.
In a news release, YTL said the deal marks its debut in New Zealand and the acquisition is 2025’s second-highest hotel transfer in transaction terms.
In March, Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited bought the InterContinental Auckland for NZ$180 million from publicly listed Precinct Properties 1 Queen Street Limited.
YTL's acquisition of the Hotel Indigo Auckland caught the eye of Christopher Luxon, New Zealand’s prime minister. Luxon was in Kuala Lumpur to witness the deal being signed during the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which concluded Tuesday.
“[YTL’s] investment decision … is a clear vote of confidence in our visitor economy and our cities,” he said in a statement. “YTL is an integrated infrastructure developer with a significant footprint in Asia and an important relationship for New Zealand. We see many opportunities for YTL’s expertise, and I look forward to them investing further in New Zealand.”
YTL Hotels’ portfolio now ranges across Australia, France, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Thailand and the United Kingdom, comprising approximately 40 hotels and 7,250 rooms.
In the U.K., it owns five hotels, including the 44-room Monkey Island Estate, which occupies two Grade I-listed buildings on a private island in the River Thames in Bray, Berkshire. In Australia, YTL owns four hotels, including the 595-room Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.
So far this year, YTL debuted the 291-room AC Hotel by Marriott Ipoh in January in Ipoh, Malaysia, and opened the 320-room Moxy Kuala Lumpur Chinatown in April.
Next up for it is the 310-room Moxy Niseko Village, which is scheduled to open in 2027 on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.