Millennium & Copthorne Hotels will purchase the 67-room Mayfair Hotel, pictured here, for $32 million. Photo: Mayfair Hotel Christchurch
- Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MCK) will acquire Mayfair Hotel for nearly $32 million
- The company is returning to Christchurch for the first time since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
- MCK believes international tourism will return to pre-Covid levels in 2026
- Highlights a bigger need to promote New Zealand as a destination
Major hotel operator Millennium and Copthorne Hotels (MCK) is returning to Christchurch for the first time since the earthquakes, with a multi-million dollar hotel purchase.
The agreement with Mayfair Luxury Hotels Limited and Stapley family interests would see the 67-room Mayfair Hotel change hands for just under $32 million, with settlement expected before the end of November.
The Victoria Street hotel was completed and opened in 2022, and included a cafe and cocktail bar.
MCK would use existing cash and bank facilities to complete the acquisition.
Its managing director Stuart Harrison said the company had five hotels in Christchurch prior to 2011, and they were lost via demolition, lost franchisees and sales.
"After over a decade, we are very happy to have a hotel presence in Christchurch once again", Harrison said.
"Christchurch has always been a strategically important market for us and the acquisition of this hotel comes at the right time as visitor numbers and interest in Christchurch are both increasing."
Harrison said recent public investments in Christchurch, such as the Te Pāe Convention Centre, meant hotels were appealing.
"From a hotel industry perspective, there is a good level of demand within the Christchurch environment. It is a core port into New Zealand, and it's a location, therefore, that we needed to be in."
He said nationally, tourism had not recovered to pre-Covid levels, but some locations continued to perform well.
He believed the country would have to wait until 2026 to return to 2019 levels of tourism.
Harrison said there was also a "need" to promote New Zealand as a destination internationally.
"When we came out with our interim results we also highlighted the fact that there needs to be increased involvement from central government and local government and how do we go about actually looking at that ... obtaining key funding for promoting New Zealand overall."
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