SINGAPORE, 27 October 2021: JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed the sale of the Faarufushi Maldives resort, a property located on the Raa Atoll, Maldives.
The sale of the 80-key upper-upscale resort that opened in 2019 reinforces the confidence investors are placing in the longer-term future of the leisure travel market.
Italy-based Emerald Collection agreed to purchase the Faarufushi from the Maldives-based Universal Enterprises. The transaction marks Emerald Collection’s second investment into the Asia Pacific, following their entry into the region through the Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa.
Significantly, the sale launch of the Faarufushi Maldives, completed due diligence, contract negotiation and transaction closing all occurred within 2021, irrespective of ongoing Covid-19 uncertainty within the travel industry.
Located at the northern tip of Raa Atoll, the property is accessible via a 50-minute seaplane journey from Velana International Airport, Male, as well as via a domestic 40-minute flight to Ifuru Airport, followed by a short 10-minute speedboat ride to the island.
“The forward-looking vaccination and border policy in the Maldives enabled the transaction to take place, with numerous members of the purchaser team and their advisors flying into the country from Italy. Furthermore, the same policy gives investors’ confidence that the Maldivian market will be one of the quickest to rebound given the introduction and implementation of progressive policies,” said
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group executive vice president, investment sales & head of debt advisory, Australasia, Adam Bury.
The sale of the Faarufushi Maldives marks JLL’s second deal of the year in Maldives and 18th in total, representing a combined value of over USD1.3 billion. In May 2021, JLL advised on the first Maldives hotel transaction since 2019, representing the seller of the Kanuhura Maldives, a five-star resort with 80 villas.
