A Canadian hotel investment firm has sold the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Sherwood Park, Alberta, for $9.6 million.
Temple Hotels Inc.’s sale of the property comes as the Ontario-based company is attempting to lessen its presence in the Alberta hotel market. The province’s economic downturn as caused investors to express caution in the lodging market.
Temple Hotels’ holds the 12 properties across Alberta – more than in any other province. Temple’s portfolio includes 28 properties across Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
"This divestiture is an important step in the execution of our strategic plan that will drive the long-term success of the Company," said K. Rai Sahi, chief executive officer of Temple, in a release. "The opportunistic sale of this property enables us to meet our financial obligations while continuing to strategically diversify the company's portfolio and decrease our reliance on a single geographic market."
Temple currently owns eight hotels in Fort McMurray. The company’s Fort McMurray portfolio’s hotel operating income has increased $300,000, while the rest of Temple’s Alberta portfolio’s operating income has decreased $400,000, according to a 2017 second quarter financial report.
The $9.6 million from Holiday Inn sale will go towards paying off the $9.1-million in mortgages secured against the property.
