Tokyo, Japan March 19th 2012 – Alchemy Japan, in conjunction with Bloomberg L.P. has successfully co-hosted a seminar on “The changing face of Japan’s highest yielding real estate sector”.

The seminar, organized on March 16th 2012, thought to be the first of its kind for the Japanese Leisure Hotel asset class, attracted a wide range of leading corporate interest, including local and international real estate and investment professionals, as well as lending institutions.

Alchemy Japan Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Michel Ferrer, commented that this unique Japanese asset class is yet to be consolidated. The vast majority of the industry’s estimated 25,000 hotels are owned by individuals and the top 10 industry groups account for only 1% of the total national inventory.

“With stable consumer demand, recent changes in the regulatory environment, profitable operations which generate high cash flow margins and hotel valuation at historical lows, the industry is ripe for a further transformation ” Mr. Ferrer noted.

Alchemy Japan believes the Leisure Hotel industry, which is worth more than twice the Japanese REIT market (estimated value of ¥8 trillion), can be successfully consolidated through three key focus areas :

• Right selection of partner and operator, based on aligned interests, with supervision and stress-testing capabilities of operator
• Effective management of the investment and renovation capex cycles
• Systemization of reporting and operations, which provide transparency, benchmarking and performance management; including budgeting and cash flow forecasting.

About Alchemy Japan:
Headquartered in Tokyo, Alchemy Japan is an asset management, investment and advisory company that creates value by transforming and managing real estate, investments, and financial assets.

Alchemy Japan commenced management of Leisure Hotel assets in Japan in 2004 with an asset management mandate for one of the first foreign institutional investors into the sector. Its Leisure Hotel division now owns and manages a nationwide portfolio of 15 hotels.

Urban Resorts Japan is one of Japan’s leading and most dynamic leisure hotel operators and is ranked 10th nationally in terms of room inventory.