Developer GuavaLime has secured a $29.3 million first mortgage construction facility from MaxCap Group to develop a new hotel in Adelaide.  

GuavaLime will use the facility for the construction of its Vibe Hotel Adelaide project, the flagship hotel in the ‘Paris end’ of Adelaide and the final stage in the 10-project Flinders Street Precinct. 

The 18-storey hotel, designed by Loucas Zahos Architects, will feature 123 rooms and a ‘pool bridge’ that connects the hotel to the neighbouring ONE Apartments building. 

TFE Hotels (Toga Far East Hotels) will operate the property, which is the first Vibe hotel in South Australia.  

“GuavaLime is a reputable sponsor with sound track-record and highly experienced management team,” MaxCap Group CIO Bill McWilliams said.  

“MaxCap is pleased to be providing funding to them for this well-designed hotel managed by a leading operator in Toga Far East, as we continue to increase our market share in the Adelaide market.” 

The project is expected to be completed later this year.  

The loan is the latest from MaxCap, which teamed up with developer Gurner to purchase a development site on the Gold Coast with ambitions to build a $120 million apartment tower last week.  

Last month, developer KDL Property Group secured a $25 million land and construction loan for the Rosebank Estate residential project in Queensland from MaxCap Group. 

In other hotel news, Singaporean group Well Smart Investment Holdings recently disposed of the 146-room ibis Budget Melbourne CBD hotel to Capit.el Group.  

Well Smart also sold the Mantra Terrace Hotel in Brisbane to a Sydney-based consortium consisting of Eduard Litver of Capitel Group, Paul Fischmann of 8Hotels and investor Jonathan Hasson for a speculated c$16 million last year.   

Australia’s hotel market saw an increase of 4,924 rooms across the ten major markets in 2021, with Melbourne leading the way.   

According to Colliers research, the expansion of Australia’s accommodation market has continued over the past two years with the addition of more than 8,500 rooms in the ten major markets.