Swire Properties today announces the formation of Swire Hotels, and the launch of its first of four hotels in Greater China. Opening this summer, The Opposite House, Beijing, will be the first property to be managed by the new company.
Swire Properties has extensive experience of developing properties for world class hoteliers, both in Hong Kong and overseas. It has a 75% interest in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami, Florida, and in Hong Kong it has a 20% interest in each of the JW Marriott, Conrad Hong Kong and Island Shangri-la hotels at Pacific Place, and in Novotel Citygate.
“The development of Swire Hotels enables us to build on our strengths in mixed-use development, while our own quality hotel projects will add value and synergy to our investment property portfolio,” said Keith Kerr, chairman of Swire Properties.
Swire Hotels
Swire Hotels has been formed to create and manage small luxury hotels in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United Kingdom, providing an exceptional experience for travelers who seek individuality, style and personalized service.
In Hong Kong and Mainland China, the hotels will be an integral part of Swire Properties’ retail and office developments. The first of these will be The Opposite House in Beijing, whose 99 rooms will open in the summer of 2008. This will offer an exciting new dimension to The Village at Sanlitun, the Company’s first retail development in Mainland China and one which is set to become Beijing’s cosmopolitan centerpiece.
The Opposite House will be followed by the opening of a 117-room luxury hotel in Pacific Place, Hong Kong, in the summer of 2009 and a 100-room hotel at Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou in 2010.
Swire Hotels also plans to manage a 343-room lifestyle business hotel called East, to be open in Island East, Hong Kong, in 2009.
In the United Kingdom, Swire Hotels is developing a collection of luxury boutique hotels to be launched in 2009. Properties have been acquired to date in Bristol, Cheltenham, Exeter and Brighton.
The managing director of Swire Hotels is Brian Williams, an experienced hotelier who spent 17 years with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and, immediately prior to joining Swire Properties in January 2006, was chief executive of the Scotsman Hotel Group.
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“This new initiative will take Swire Properties’ involvement in the hotel arena to a new level,” said Mr. Williams. “The hotels we are developing will appeal to a distinct group of travelers who seek out individuality and a unique luxury experience. We very much look forward to the opening of our first hotel, The Opposite House, in Beijing this summer.”
About Swire Properties Incorporated in 1972, Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail and residential properties which offer exceptional and inviting environments in prime locations, with a strategy to ‘hub’ its investment properties at major mass transportation intersections, providing the highest level of accessibility and connectivity to its tenants and patrons. The completed portfolio in Hong Kong totals over 13 million sq ft of gross floor area, with Island East, Pacific Place and Festival Walk as its core holdings, reflecting its strength in building communities. Besides Hong Kong, the Company has a presence in China, the USA as well as the United Kingdom.
In China, Swire Properties owns a majority stake in The Village at Sanlitun, a joint venture with Gateway Capital, in Beijing, of which the first phase is scheduled for opening in summer 2008. Two other substantial Mainland projects currently in progress are TaiKoo Hui in Guangzhou and the Dazhongli project in Shanghai.
The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly-listed Swire Pacific Limited whose businesses are grouped under five operating divisions – property, aviation, beverages, marine services and trading & industrial.
Visit Swire Properties website at www.swireproperties.com.
