Sydney, 20 March 2019: Leading law firm, Clayton Utz has advised European investment company AXA on its purchase of four Accor hotels, from The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The $330 million acquisition is the most significant hotel portfolio transaction to date this year. The transaction was completed on 25 February 2019. 

It is a significant deal for AXA, being its largest property investment in Australia since 2016. Three of the Accor hotels are located in Sydney's Olympic Park, and the other in Canberra.

Clayton Utz Real Estate Partner, Andrew Steele led the firm's team advising AXA, in collaboration with Partners, Kathy Santikos (Banking & Financial Services), Claire Smith (Environment & Planning), Abraham Ash (Workplace Relations and Safety) and their respective teams. Real Estate senior associate, Elizabeth Boden and Tax special counsel Keshni Maharaj also provided key support on the deal.

All four hotels are managed by Accor, the country's largest hotel group on long-term management agreements.