YEAR
IN REVIEW
(11) Business Weekly, "Cambridge leads VC investment boom in UK Biotech", 19 January 2015.
(12) Cambridge Biomedical Campus Website.
OVERVIEW AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
This acquisition in Cambridge marked CDLHT’s first investment into Europe and is expected to benefit the Stapled Security
Holders by broadening CDLHT's earning base. The hospitality outlook for UK continues to be strong with international
visitor arrivals hitting a record 35.8 million in 2015. Cambridge is a robust hospitality market with strong demand profile.
It is one of the primary tourist destinations in UK due to its historical and cultural appeal, and also an important location for
UK’s R&D sector where it is home to a large cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on biomedical, pharmaceutical and
technology.
This transaction was a unique opportunity for CDLHT to secure a prominent presence in Cambridge, one of the strongest
hospitality markets in UK, through owning one of the largest hotels in the city.
Property to benefit from burgeoning life science cluster
Cambridge is regarded as an international centre for R&D and sometimes referred to as "Silicon Fen", an allusion to
Silicon Valley. The city’s growth in recent years has also attracted attention from venture capitalists and other strategic
investors, evidenced from the number of major developments that will be completed over the next few years
(11)
. One of the
biggest relates to Addenbrooke’s 2020 Vision to make Cambridge Biomedical Campus one of the largest concentrations
of healthcare-related talent and enterprise in Europe. Part of this plan will see the construction of AstraZeneca’s Corporate
Headquarters and Global R&D Centre which is expected to employ close to 2,000 people when it is completed in 2016
(12)
.
Artist’s Impression of AstraZeneca HQ & R&D Centre
INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ARRIVALS TO UK
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0
5-Year CAGR
3.7%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
29.8
30.8
31.1
32.7
34.4
35.8
Million
Image Credit: AstraZeneca website
22
