Major hotel operator returns to Christchurch with $32 million buyout

Major hotel operator Millennium and Copthorne Hotels is returning to Christchurch for the first time since the earthquakes with a multi-million pound property.

The agreement with Mayfair Luxury Hotels Limited and the Stapley family interests will see the 67-room Mayfair Hotel change hands for just under $32 million, with settlement expected before the end of November.

The Victoria Street Hotel was completed and opened in 2022 and features a café and cocktail bar.

MCK will utilize existing cash and banking facilities to complete the acquisition.

Its managing director Stuart Harrison said the company had five hotels in Christchurch until 2011 and had lost them to demolition, loss of franchisees and sales.

“After more than ten years, we are thrilled to be reopening the hotel in Christchurch,” Harrison said.

“Christchurch has always been a strategically important market for us and the acquisition of this hotel comes at the right time as visitor numbers and interest in Christchurch are growing.”

Harrison said recent government investment in Christchurch, such as the Te Pae Convention Centre, meant hotels were attractive.

“From a hospitality perspective, there is a good level of demand in Christchurch. This is the main port into New Zealand and therefore this is where we needed to be.”

He said nationally, tourism had not recovered to pre-Covid levels, but some destinations continued to perform well.

He believed the country would have to wait until 2026 to return to 2019 tourism levels.

Harrison said there was also a “need” to promote New Zealand as a destination internationally.

“When we released our interim results, we also highlighted the fact that there needs to be greater involvement from central government and local government and how we actually approach that… getting key funding to move New Zealand as a whole forward.”