UBS Asset Management’s Real Estate & Private Markets business has launched a $400 million new initiative to invest in the Japanese hotel sector. It will focus on value-add and development opportunities in key metropolitan and regional areas such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Hokkaido, among others.
Mitsubishi Corp – UBS Realty, UBS-AM’s joint venture in Japan, will source and manage assets for the strategy through its private fund management arm MCUBS Japan Advisors. MC-UBS has a successful 16-year track record and is one of the largest real estate platforms in Japan.
The new strategy will target assets with potential for refurbishment, repositioning or conversion. This is in addition to investing in development projects where there is a third-party operator in place. The primary focus will be on the limited-service hotel sector.
“We see a particular window of opportunity in limited-service hotels, a sector that accounted for more than 40 perc
