The $2.8bn sale to Highgate is potentially the first many large hospitality portfolio sales, but a debt transfer of its size is unlikely to be repeated.
Though new relationships are still on hold throughout much of the world, many kinds of investors are still finding ways to grow their real estate exposure.
As retail and office sectors trend toward volatility, the steady returns of sale-and-leaseback strategies are becoming attractive fixed-income substitutes.
Otherwise, US private real estate mogul Tom Barrack says, widespread margin calls could trigger the next financial crisis – and it’s hard to disagree.