Edinburgh's W Hotel up for sale

Nuveen Real Estate is selling its 25% interest in the St James Quarter shopping centre, along with the W Hotel that sits within it.

The 1.7 million sq ft mall includes an 850,000 sq ft 'retail galleria', anchored by John Lewis, with footfall of more than 18 million per year since it opened in 2021. The scheme also includes the New Eidyn residential development, comprising 152 apartments.

Savills has been appointed to the St James' sale, and alongside Eastdil Secured is also marketing the disposal of the freehold, 244-room hotel. This opened in November 2023 under a long-term hotel management agreement with Marriott International.

The 174,300 sq ft, 10-storey building - already famous for its unique addition to Edinburgh's skyline - has a 360 degree rooftop area.

Robert Stapleton, head of hotel capital markets at Savills, commented: “The quality of the development is absolutely outstanding and, being positioned in the centre of St James Quarter, Edinburgh’s busiest and best retail district, the hotel benefits from both an exceptional location, but also phenomenal footfall which delivers strong demand for both the food and beverage and bedroom offerings at the W Edinburgh.

“Edinburgh is one of Europe’s standout hotel markets, and benefits from both high barriers to entry and an enviable mix of both corporate and leisure demand drivers which have driven Edinburgh’s exceptional hotel performance over the past five years.

“The hotel is best-in-class in Edinburgh and requires no additional capital expenditure - we’re confident that it will attract significant interest from global investors.”

Steve Wicks, head of retail for Europe at Nuveen Real Estate, added: “Having spent the last eight years investing to develop the now iconic quarter in the heart of Edinburgh, the time has come for us to sell our interest in line with our wider business plan for the development.

“The site and hotel are a resounding success story, both in terms of trading and the impact they have had on the city more generally, and we are immensely proud of the quarter we have created.

“Both the hotel and shops will continue to operate as normal as we go through this process, with no impact to those working in, living in or visiting the space.”

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