IFA enters US with $300m deal

IFA Hotels & Resorts has made its first investment into North America by completing a $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) hotel deal to be built in Central Manhattan with leading US real estate developer Related Companies.

Related is a fully integrated real estate firm with divisions specialising in development, acquisitions, finance, property management, and sales. The company has developed or acquired more than $15bn (Dh55bn) in real estate assets and has another $9bn (Dh33bn) of development in the pipeline.

The deal follows other Middle Eastern firms venturing into the highly lucrative US hospitality market, such as IFA HR partner Istithmar Hotels, which has acquired the Manadarin Oriental hotel and the Knickerboker Hotel in New York City.

The hotel market in New York is the number one in the United States in terms of revenue and occupancy levels. Hotels in Manhattan achieve about 85 per cent rates, with average rates for the city continuing to record double-digit increases on a monthly basis.

Related is widely known for creating some of the nation’s finest residential, retail and mixed-use developments including the Time Warner Center which transformed Columbus Circle into New York City’s newest landmark, Grand Avenue, a multi-phase development spanning three city blocks in downtown Los Angeles, the Snowmass Village Resort development in Colorado; and the 144-acre CityNorth mixed-use development in Phoenix, Arizona.

Currently present in 15 markets throughout the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean region, Asia and now North America, IFA HR is at the forefront of developing mixed-use real estate projects.