IHG Hotels & Resorts and Sydney-based owner and investment firm Salter Brothers have signed a long-term agreement for a major luxury and lifestyle hotel investment in Australia.
As part of the deal, five Australian hotels in Salter Brothers' portfolio will be rebranded and repositioned within IHG's brands for a total investment of more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($644.4 million).
Among the five hotels included in Salter Brothers' long-term agreement with IHG, the 248-room InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto will be converted to the Regent Melbourne by 2030, which marks the 28-year return of IHG's Regent Hotels & Resorts to Australia. IHG acquired a majority stake in the historied luxury brand in 2018 after it had gone through an era under various owners and brand changes.
Salter Brothers' Crowne Plaza Melbourne, a 432-room hotel, will be converted into the InterContinental Melbourne. The 296-room Crowne Plaza Canberra will be transformed into the InterContinental Canberra, which also will be joined by a new Hotel Indigo developed on-site. The 210-room Crowne Plaza Sydney Coogee Beach will be transformed into the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach by the end of 2015. IHG and Salter Brothers will also refurbish and expand the 389-room Voco Gold Coast, which was the brand's global debut when it opened in 2018 as a conversion of the Watermark Hotel.
In December 2015, Salter Brothers acquired four of these properties as part of a five-hotel portfolio from Eureka Funds Management.
IHG has 76 hotels in Australasia, with a further 26 in the pipeline.
“This partnership accelerates IHG’s luxury and lifestyle growth in Australia and enables Salter Brothers to reposition key assets and unlock long-term value in this space,” said Matthew Tripolone, IHG’s managing director of Australasia-Pacific.
IHG CEO Elie Maalouf projected 2025 revenue per available room growth of 2.3% across the company's portfolio. He said IHG is on track to meet current full-year 2025 consensus profit expectations, despite macroeconomic volatility.
IHG signed approximately 15,000 rooms in 86 hotels in the quarter, more than double that of the same period last year.
Salter Brothers also plans to launch a real estate investment trust before the end of 2026, according to Australian news site Proactive Investors.
Regarding the imminent launch of a REIT, Paul Salter, managing director, told Proactive that the firm was “still continuing to pursue an [initial public offering]. It’s a hospitality REIT. It’s 18 months away. It’s still a part of the larger strategy.”