Shakespeare Property’s AU$50 million purchase of Sydney hotel Woolstore 1888 from Ovolo Group has been settled, with the property now operating under Accor’s boutique Handwritten Collection brand.
The sale of the Darling Harbour hotel – regarded as one of Sydney’s finest heritage hotels –equates to around AU$555,000 per key, and was agreed in mid-2024.
The property boasts 90 guest rooms across four floors along with an award-winning wine bar.
Shakespeare Property – a partner with Accor on several other Australian hotels including Pullman Cairns International, Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort and Peppers Marysville – believes the Handwritten Collection brand is the perfect fit for the property.
“The Handwritten Collection brand will preserve the original character of this heritage gem, help us to bring out the best in this unique hotel, and offer high service standards,” said Shakespeare Property Group Vice President Hospitality Assets and Investments, Richard Saab.
“The transition to Handwritten Collection has been seamless and we look forward to a long and productive partnership.
“Shakespeare Property has a well-established partnership with Accor across several other hotels and this provides us with operational efficiencies across an established centralised platform.
“In addition, Hotel Woolstore stands to benefit from ACCOR’s global commercial power in the sales, distribution, and loyalty platform.”
Shakespeare Property, which manages over AU$3 billion in equities, income securities, direct properties and alternative assets, raised equity from wholesale investors via a single-asset property investment trust, the Shakespeare 1888 Trusts, to fund the deal, which was brokered by CBRE.