Outrigger announced today (July 24) that it has entered into an agreement with Laguna Phuket Club Co (LPC), a Thai company controlled by Singapore-based Real Estate Capital Asia Partners (Recap), an Asia-focused real estate private equity fund.
The agreement will see the 254-key resort, located in the Laguna Phuket complex, handed over to Outrigger in the first quarter of next year.
LPC/Recap bought Laguna Resorts & Hotels’ share in LBR in February last year for B723.6 million. Outrigger has not revealed how much it will eventually pay for the renovated resort.
Recap, headed by Suchad Chiaranussati, has a high-profile presence in Thailand’s real estate market. It acquired Patong’s Jungceylon shopping complex in 2006 and also invested in Bangkok’s prestigious four-tower Millennium Residence development.
“The Laguna Beach Resort will be one of the brightest jewels in the Outrigger portfolio,” said Darren Edmonstone, managing director of Outrigger Enterprises Group – Asia-Pacific, “and we look forward to completing the renovations and reopening it early next year.
“The addition of this iconic resort positions Outrigger extremely well in the growing Asia-Pacific region.
“The combination of the Laguna Beach Resort with our existing management of the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas and the Outrigger Phi Phi Island Resort and Spa [due to be officially renamed in November this year], creates exciting opportunities for guests who desire a luxury experience in premier leisure destinations in Asia.”
Originally opened in 1991, the Laguna Beach Resort has a spa, tennis courts, meeting and conference rooms, a wedding chapel, extensive water features, a resort pool and a children’s club.
The property closed in March this year for renovation, and some 350 staff were laid off. It is not currently known how many will be rehired, or how many were kept on by Recap on a retainer basis.
The resort is currently undergoing a major renovation of all of its rooms and public areas and is expected to reopen under the Outrigger banner early in the second quarter of 2013.
Hawaii-based Outrigger expanded into Asia only recently and now boasts of “45 properties and close to 11,000 rooms currently under management or development” in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia; Bali; Hainan Island in China; and Quy Nhon in Vietnam.
“After managing a property in the Laguna Phuket destination resort for nearly three years,” Mr Edmonstone added, “we are confident that the Laguna Beach Resort is a perfect fit for our first major investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We look forward to continuing to expand the Outrigger brand to other major resort destinations as well.”
The sale of the Laguna Beach Resort is the second major divestment by Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, owner of the Laguna complex. In August 2010, it sold the Dusit Laguna Resort to Dusit Thani plc for B2.62 billion.