China UCF’s purchase of an English country estate is a case study in how to make an overseas asset work
The mainland Chinese investment group purchased the 400-hectare estate in Hampshire, featuring am 18-hole golf course and a spa hotel, from hotelier Martin Shaw in 2013. Now Shaw helps manage the asset
Buying a historical Tudor hunting lodge in a suburb of England that was once visited by King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn may not be a big problem for wealthy Chinese investors, but managing the asset is another issue fraught with challenges.
China UCF Group, which has invested in hospitality projects in Britain, has found a solution.
“We respect and hire local talent to help us to run the business in England and it has worked very well,” said Shirley Hsu, chief executive of UCF Capital, the overseas investment arm of the mainland company.
UCF is among the mainland companies which can afford to invest in overseas projects. Hsu believes Britain is a good market for investment.
“We have looked into hospitality asset management in France, Italy and many others, but we found the British management is the most disciplined. This is why we decided to invest actively in Britain,” Hsu told thePost during a meeting in the Old Thorns Golf Hotel and Country Estate in Hampshire, about two-hour’s drive from the City of London.
A mutual respect between the Chinese owner and the British management and to share a common goal to make money is the key of how to a make a merger work well
The project was formerly owned by British hotelier Martin Shaw, 56, who has invested in hotels since he was 28.