Sam Nazarian’s SBE sold its luxury SLS Beverly Hills hotel as the company focuses on managing properties and licensing its brands rather than owning real estate.
The 297-room SLS Beverly Hills was purchased by closely held Sunrider International for about $200 million, said Brittany Mathieu, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based SBE. The hotel, which opened in 2008 and is managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, will retain its name, according to a statement Monday.
“We saw an opportunity that is beneficial to SLS Beverly Hills, as well as the growth of the SLS Hotels brand as a whole,” Nazarian, chairman and chief executive officer of closely held SBE, said in the statement.
The deal is part of a strategy to cash in on SBE’s real estate investments and focus on its management operations, Nazarian said when he announced the planned sale a year ago. SBE, which also owns Hyde nightclubs and the Katsuya and Cleo restaurant brands, has said it wants to build SLS into a chain of boutique hotels that would attract high-end leisure and business travellers.
Next year, Nazarian plans to open the SLS Hotel & Residences Brickell in Miami and a hotel project on Park Avenue South in New York. Properties are also planned for Philadelphia and midtown Miami, with openings scheduled for 2017.
Sunrider International, founded by Tei-Fu Chen, manufactures nutritional supplements and weight-loss, beauty and household products. The Chen family also owns Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Group, which has properties in Beijing, Taipei and London, according to the statement.
Bloomberg News, edited by Hospitality Ireland
