HFF Closes Sale of 2-Property Hotel Portfolio in Charleston and Bluffton/Hilton Head, South Carolina

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. May 09, 2017

ORLANDO, FL. May 9, 2017 - Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the sale of a two-property Candlewood Suites portfolio totaling 249 rooms in Charleston and Bluffton/Hilton Head, South Carolina

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Liberty Group. Affiliates of DC Hospitality Group, LLC purchased the assets unencumbered of debt and existing management. Liberty Group acquired the hotels in 2013 and 2014 through its private-equity vehicle, Liberty Hospitality Fund I, LLC.

The portfolio comprises the 125-room Candlewood Suites Charleston and the 124-room Candlewood Suites Bluffton/Hilton Head. Both four-story hotels are pet friendly and feature the Candlewood Cupboard, sundry shop, an outdoor gazebo grill and 24-hour fitness center. The Candlewood Suites Charleston was developed in 2007 and renovated in 2014. Situated on 3.26 acres at 2177 Northwoods Boulevard in North Charleston, the hotel is adjacent to Interstate 26 and is proximate to Charleston International Airport. The Candlewood Suites Bluffton/Hilton Head was developed in 2010 and renovated in 2014. In addition to the above-mentioned amenities, the hotel has an outdoor pool. The Candlewood Suites Bluffton/Hilton Head is housed on 3.3 acres at 5 Young Clyde Court in the Bluffton/Hilton Head area, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the southern United States with 2.5 million annual visitors. The hotel is in the epicenter of the 10,000-acre Sun City Hilton Head master-planned community situated along US 278, the primary thoroughfare to Hilton Head Island.

The HFF team was led by senior managing director Michael Weinberg, associate director Preston Reid and director Chris Lingerfelt.

“The sale of these hotels represented the successful full-cycle execution of our fund investment strategy,” stated Punit Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Group. “The sale of these assets validates the appeal of select-service and extended-stay hotels to both institutional and strategic purchasers.”

“The portfolio offers a tremendous opportunity to acquire two strong-performing assets in flourishing areas across the Southeast,” Lingerfelt said. “Both the Charleston and Bluffton/Hilton Head lodging markets are supported by healthy demand generators and are poised for long-term growth.”

“We continue to see robust interest for branded select-service and extended-stay assets in strong southeastern markets, especially when they have a strong going-in yield coupled with below replacement cost pricing,” Reid added.

About Liberty Group

Established over three decades ago, Liberty Group is a vertically-integrated hotel investment, development and management company with a proven entrepreneurial approach to institutional-quality hotel investments. Liberty Group's proactive and holistic approach of continually evaluating asset performance, operations, market share, value and capital structure allows the company to optimize returns through clear and concise investment objectives. With over $425,000,000 in investment experience, including more than 50 hotels representing 4,000 hotel rooms throughout the United States, the Liberty Group team has established a reputation for integrity, transparency, and sound fundamentals that is created around its core competencies. Learn more at http://www.libertygrouphotels.com.

About DC Hospitality Group, LLC

DC Hospitality Group, LLC (“DC Hospitality”) and its affiliates own and manage a commercial property portfolio aggregating approximately 1.5 million square feet in 6 states. The company's hotel portfolio includes 14 extended stay hotels encompassing 1,687 rooms in both primary and secondary high growth markets. The company benefits from its partners' unique blend of expertise across disciplines. Past experience in entrepreneurial endeavors, global private equity, investment banking, architecture, and construction shape the company's culture and approach. While the company has demonstrated a strong track record of financial success, paramount to returns is the partners' dedication to upholding their reputation for honesty and integrity. For more information, please visit www.dcpartnersre.com.

About HFF

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., HFF Real Estate Limited (collectively, “HFF”), HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited (collectively, “HFFS”) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF and its affiliates operate out of 24 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.

CONTACTS:
PRESTON REID
HFF Associate Director
[email protected]
(813) 387-9901

MICHAEL WEINBERG
HFF Senior Managing Director
[email protected]
(407) 745-3900

CHRIS LINGERFELT
HFF Director
[email protected]
(704) 526-2808

KRISTEN MURPHY
HFF Director, Public Relations
[email protected]
(617) 338-0990