The owner of Victoria’s Fairmont Empress has put the landmark hotel on the market for an undisclosed price, as it looks to sell all its locations except three luxury hotels in Quebec.
Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of Quebec’s Caisse de depot pension fund manager, has owned the Empress since 2007, when it expanded its hotel portfolio. It is trimming its hotel holdings to three in its home province, Sebastien Theberge, Ivanhoe Cambridge spokesman, said from Quebec on Friday. Other hotels for sale include the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
The 106-year-old Empress is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, part of FRHI, under a long-term agreement. Designed by Frances Rattenbury, the 477-room hotel is a National Historic Site. It was among a number of château-style hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
No price is listed for the Empress, but its assessed value is $89.9 million, making it one of the most valuable properties in Greater Victoria.
On the market for a few months, the Empress is “in the bidding process right now, so it is a little more advanced than the others,” Theberge said. No information on offers is being released.
It is not uncommon for hotels to change ownership and keep the banner, he said. “That’s the case with the different Fairmonts that we still have in our portfolio.”
When it comes to a potential owner, “[Fairmont] has a say in the final choice,” Theberge said.
The decision to sell hotels was made 21Ú2 years ago to focus on the types of properties the company knows best, such as shopping centres, including Mayfair in Victoria, offices, and multi-family residential, he said. The Château Laurier in Ottawa has already been sold.
“Ownership changes are not uncommon in the lodging sector,” FRHI said in a statement. It also said the company has supported properties being sold, “ensuring a seamless transition of operations between owners while retaining long-term management.”
There will be no impact on day-to-day services if ownership changes, it said.
In Canada, the total value of hotel sales reached $2 billion last year, almost double 2012 at $1.1 billion, states a CBRE real estate report.
