Sheraton Palace Hotel in Gangnam, located nearby the main bus terminal and shopping districts of Shinsegae Department Store in posh neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, returns to the sale block.

According to sources from the investment banking industry on Thursday, SeoJoo Industry Development Co., the owner of the five-star hotel, has placed it up for sale after naming Samsung Securities and CBRE as sales advisors.

It is its second attempt after it withdrew the previous sales plan earlier this year when the COVID-19 outbreak reached its peak, which caused a sharp decrease in demand for hospitality business, according to sources.

Founded in 1982 as Banpo Palace Hotel, the hotel has had ‘Sheraton’ name since 2016. The 12-story hotel sitting on a 9,300-square-meter area has 319 rooms, 22 suites and 11 conference rooms.

The hotel is located in one of the hot spots in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, and close to Express Bus Terminal station on subway line three, seven and nine. Market watchers expect a huge demand for the hotel that would fetch around 300 billion won ($253.3 million) to 400 billion won.

A source from the IB industry said investors could transform the hotel into a studio apartment or commercial building by taking advantage of its geographical location.

By Kang Doo-soon and Choi Mira

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