JLL Australia and Japan expands regional hotels platform

SINGAPORE, 19 January 2023 – JLL (NYSE: JLL) Hotels & Hospitality Group today announced the appointment of two strategic hires in Australia and Japan that will bolster its regional client coverage.

Gus Moors joins JLL as Managing Director, Head of New South Wales Investment Sales. Based in Sydney, he will be responsible for managing JLL’s hotel sales platform in Australia’s most populated state, managing a team of investment professionals and providing advisory services to domestic and international clients.

He joins JLL from Colliers International where he was most recently Head of Hotels, Australia, where for over nine years he undertook a range of transactions including numerous notable Sydney assets such as Rydges Sydney Harbour, Rydges Bankstown, Capital Square Hotel Sydney, Radisson Liverpool Street, Veriu Central Sydney and the Westin Sydney transaction. As one of Australia’s most experienced hotel brokers and asset managers, Gus has undertaken nearly $2 billion in hotel sales and asset managed over 60 hotels nationally.

He brings over 25 years of experience to JLL having worked across all facets of the hotel industry including brokerage, operations, consultancy, asset management and property investment.

“I have worked with Gus for almost 20 years now as a colleague, client and competitor, and throughout that time we’ve enjoyed a great relationship and achieved a range of successes together. As one of the hotel industry’s most credentialed and respected advisors, Gus will bring a team-centric client-first approach to the leadership of our Sydney office and further cement JLL’s position as the leading hotel brokerage team in the market,” said Peter Harper, Managing Director & Head of Investment Sales Australasia.

James Abe comes to JLL as Managing Director, Head of Investment Sales for Hotels & Hospitality Group, Japan. He will be responsible for leading a diverse team of market-leading hospitality investment professionals in Japan, as well as partnering with members of the global and regional hotels business to further connect investors with opportunities in one of the world’s most sought-after hospitality markets.

He brings experience from Westmont, where he led their hotels business in Japan. In this role, James was responsible for the sourcing and acquisition, disposition and asset management for Westmont’s hotel portfolio in Japan. He also brings experience from Shinsei Bank and Queens Capital Partners, a real estate investment & advisory company he founded in New York focused on deals in Asia (Japan) and North America, covering direct real estate investments, distressed investments, arrangement of debt and equity, debt restructurings, equity recapitalisations, advisory and consulting.

“Japan remains one of the most active hospitality markets globally with investors consistently looking to increase their footprint via acquisitions, partnerships and platform investments. With the attractiveness of the Japan hotel market poised to grow further, a leader of James’ calibre will position JLL strongly to best fulfil the demands of our expanding client base in Japan,” says Nihat Ercan, Senior Managing Director, Head of Investment Sales, Asia Pacific.