UHG to sink B1.5bn into hotel expansion

Move prompted by office demand slump

- KANANA KATHARANGSIPORN

Commercial property developer UHG plans to invest 1.5 billion baht to expand its hotel portfolio in fringe areas of Bangkok and convert office space on Lat Phrao Soi 4 into hotel rooms, capitalising on tourism and escaping the oversupplied office market.

Managing director Wutthiphon Taworntawat said the Digital Economy Promotion Agency, the sole office tenant at the Ladprao Hills mixed-use project, is gradually moving out, following the completion of its own headquarters.

“Finding new office tenants to replace a single occupant is tough amid fierce competition and the office market’s oversupply,” he said. “Turning the space into hotel rooms to expand our existing portfolio is a far more worthwhile investment.”

UHG will invest 200 million baht to convert 7,000 square metres of office space across six floors at Ladprao Hills into 200 hotel rooms, with the conversion expected to take around three months to complete.