HONG KONG, 16 November 2026: Pan-Asian investment company AXE Management Partners has sold a three-hotel portfolio with 518 rooms in central Osaka to Tokyo-listed real estate investment manager Creal for about JPY21 billion, according to sources familiar with the transaction. The sale price was nearly twice what AXE paid for the portfolio in 2024.
AXE acquired the properties from CapitaLand Ascott Trust for JPY10.7 billion, or about USD71 million at the time. Creal completed the purchase on 31 July 2026. The publication Mingtiandi first reported the transaction figures. Creal’s filings disclosed neither the seller nor the purchase price. AXE could not be reached for comment before publication.
Completed in 2018, the hotels were originally operated by WBF Hotels & Resorts, which entered court-supervised restructuring in April 2020 amid the pandemic. Two of the properties had been closed since 2020 when AXE took control. AXE partnered with UK-based IHG Hotels & Resorts to introduce its midscale “Garner by IHG” brand to Asia, marking the brand’s first deal outside North America. The properties underwent refurbishment, including redesigned public areas, and reopened in the first half of 2025. The sale closed about a year and a half later.
The AXE sale is among several large Osaka hotel transactions in 2026, including a Nomura-managed fund’s JPY38.5 billion purchase of the Centara Grand Hotel Osaka and Japan Hotel REIT’s JPY14.3 billion acquisition of Candeo Hotels Osaka Namba. Together, the transactions suggest continued institutional interest in Osaka’s hotel market.
AXE was founded by Gary Kwok, a seasoned investment banker who previously held senior positions at Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he served as head of Asia Pacific hospitality, lodging and gaming real estate. According to AXE, he has led transactions totalling more than USD50 billion during his career.
AXE is reportedly planning further investments in hospitality and commercial real estate in Japan and other Asian markets.
(Source: acnnewswire.com)
