Buddle Findlay acted as New Zealand legal counsel to the Bank of New Zealand in respect of the facilities made available to fund the 2026 acquisition by Brookfield Asset Management of two New Zealand hotel assets, the 280-room Rydges Wellington and the 84-room Sofitel Queenstown.
The hotels were sold by New Zealand-based NZ Hotel Holdings for NZ$250m, including the cost of repositioning the two assets. NZ Hotel Holdings is a joint venture led by the state-owned New Zealand Superannuation Fund and includes private investors Russell Property Group and Lockwood Group. New York Stock Exchange-listed Brookfield Asset Management is a global investment firm that currently manages approximately NZ$1b in New Zealand assets.
The Buddle Findlay team was led by partner Paul Farrugia and included senior associate Matthew Triggs and solicitor Ben Allen.