Quest serviced apartment founder Paul Constantinou sells to Ascott
Singapore-based accomodation company Ascott has secured full ownership of Quest
Jonathan ChancellorSeptember 9, 2021
The Singapore-based accommodation company Ascott has secured full ownership of Quest, Australia’s biggest serviced apartment provider.
Ascott has acquired founder Paul Constantinou’s remaining 20 per cent stake.
The sale comes after the dire situation in Australian tourism which prompted Quest franchisees to stop paying rent to investor landlords during last year’s pandemic lockdown, resulting in several closures.
Constantinou made a LinkedIn post to confirm the sale of his remaining stake.
I “officially say goodbye” he noted.
He founded Quest in 1988 with premises in Fitzroy which has since become over 170 franchised properties.
It was in 2017 when the Singapore accommodation group, a subsidiary of real estate giant CapitaLand, took its ownership of Quest to 80 per cent after acquiring a further 60 per cent of the business for $193 million.
The initial stake was bought in 2014.
No sale price has been given for the latest tranche.
He departed the senior leadership team in July when hotel veteran David Mansfield took charge of the group.
Jonathan Chancellor
Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.