The debt-ridden 13 Hotel in Coloane is up for sale, with the owners asking HK$2.4 billion (US$307 million), various news outlets report.
Around 20 interested buyers have already made queries, according to broadcaster TDM, who spoke with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Macau. The realtor has been appointed to oversee the sale of the mothballed hotel.
Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper cited remarks from the head of JLL Macau, Oliver Tong, who said that the property’s luxurious design and fittings were attracting interest. He also noted that access to the area would improve with the opening of a nearby LRT station.
[See more: The debt-ridden 13 Hotel is preparing for a 2024 relaunch, reports say]
Attempts by the owners to put the hotel up for sale can be traced as far back as 2018. Earlier this year, there were reports that the hotel’s management had successfully applied for a permit to renovate the property before reopening it.
Once touted as one of the world’s most expensive hotels, the 13 Hotel was developed by 65-year-old Hong Kong businessman, Stephen Hung, at a cost of US$1.4 billion. Construction of the building began in 2013, but met with multiple delays before the hotel officially opened in 2018.
With the onset of the pandemic, a lack of gaming facilities and a dwindling number of guests, the 22-storey hotel, which has 196 rooms, ceased operations in February 2020. Three years later, the hotel’s parent company, South Shore Holdings Limited, was officially declared bankrupt by the Judicial Court.
