The integrated resort and convention centre owner informed the share market this morning that it had signed a non-binding heads of agreement (HoA) to sell the 312-room property, with the sale conditional on approval from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office, indicating the buyer is from outside New Zealand.
SkyCity is expecting the sale to be completed this year.
The likely sale comes after SkyCity announced it was seeking a buyer for the hotel at the start of May. The former SkyCity Convention Centre, which currently houses attractions Wētā Workshop Unleashed and the All Blacks Experience as tenants, was also part of the initial offering for sale.
Late last week, SkyCity confirmed the sale of four of its other assets in the area surrounding its SkyCity Auckland precinct. The buyer is a joint venture between Mainland Capital and Russell Property Group.
The $74.5 million sale includes a 17-storey office tower and three other adjoining buildings. The purchase is the second collaboration between Mainland Capital and Russell Property Group, with the first being the currently under-construction Sheraton Christchurch, located in close proximity to the city’s young convention centre Te Pae, which opened in 2022.
The now-unconditional sale of this cluster of properties is expected to be complete in September.
SkyCity has indicated it will used the proceeds of both sales – assuming The Grand Hotel transaction is successful – to pay off debt and “provide SkyCity with greater financial flexibility to navigate current market conditions”.
New Zealand’s newest and largest convention centre, the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), is owned by SkyCity and located within the SkyCity Auckland precinct. The sale of The Grand Hotel, if it includes the full footprint of the former SkyCity convention centre, will give its new owners a direct link to the new convention centre, which opened in February.
