Schroders buys W Hotel in Edinburgh from Nuveen – Daily Business

Schroders Capital, the private markets business of London asset management giant Schroders, has acquired the 244-bed W Edinburgh hotel from Nuveen Real Estate.

The hotel, with its distinctive ribbon design and 360 degrees views of the city, opened in Novermber 2023 at the heart of the St James Quarter, the key shopping and leisure destination in the city.

The purchase price was undisclosed, but it was reported in December that Nuveen was in talks to sell the hotel for more than £100 million.

Schroders Capital currently manages £3.1 billion of investments in hotel businesses operated by a 40-strong team in London, Paris, Milan and Amsterdam.

W Edinburgh, Marriott International’s first luxury property in the market and the first W Hotel in Scotland, comprising three distinct buildings: the Ribbon Building, the Quarter House and James Craig Walk, dating from 1775, which is a heritage listed terrace named after the Scottish architect who inspired the New Town.

James Macnamara from Schroders Capital, said: “The addition of the W Edinburgh to our portfolio is hugely exciting, as we continue to identify top-tier hotel assets that can facilitate multiple ways to create value and offer significant long-term growth potential.

“Edinburgh is an attractive market for Schroders Capital and we look forward to working with the highly experienced and agile team at the hotel to ensure guest experience remains in line with the W brand quality and ethos.

“We expect this investment to follow many other successful collaborations between Schroders Capital and Marriott International in the luxury hotels space such as the St Regis in Venice and The Westin Palace in Milan.”

Ed Webb, director of development management at Nuveen, said: “The completion of the sale of the W Edinburgh marks a considerable milestone for St James Quarter as the first transaction realises over a decade of planning and development to deliver a leading destination in the heart of Edinburgh and the completion of a vision shared by our investors.

“The hotel itself has become an iconic landmark within the city centre.”