Service Properties Trust Announces Actions to Improve Liquidity and Reduce Leverage

Reduces Quarterly Distribution to $0.01 Per Share; $127 Million in Annual Savings Will Increase Liquidity

114 Sonesta Managed Focused Service Hotels Expected to be Sold in 2025; SVC Expects to Use Net Sales Proceeds to Repay Debt

Actions are Expected to Reduce Capital Expenditures and Leverage, Improve Portfolio Performance and Better Position SVC's Hotel Portfolio for the Long Term

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 16, 2024-- 

Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC) today announced that SVC's Board of Trustees has reduced SVC's regular quarterly cash distribution on its common shares from $0.20 per common share ($0.80 per share per year) to $0.01 per common share ($0.04 per share per year). The dividend reduction will result in $127 million of annual savings.

SVC also today announced that it has plans to sell 114 focused service hotels managed by Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, or collectively with its parent and subsidiaries, Sonesta, with an aggregate of 14,925 keys and an aggregate net carrying value of $850.0 million. SVC expects to sell these hotels in 2025 and use the net sales proceeds to repay debt. Additionally, SVC expects the sales of these hotels will result in savings of approximately $725 million in capital expenditures, which was forecasted to be spent on these hotels over a six-year period.

SVC currently owns 187 hotels that are managed by Sonesta under five brands, including 14 hotels that SVC is currently in the process of selling and the 114 being announced for sale today. Upon completion of the disposition plan in 2025, SVC expects that Sonesta will continue to manage 39 full service hotels, 14 extended stay hotels and 6 select service hotels owned by SVC. SVC will continue to own 34% of Sonesta.

Todd Hargreaves, President and Chief Investment Officer of SVC, made the following statement:

"Given the slow recovery of our hotel portfolio in combination with our hotel capital improvement and renovation program and our deteriorating leverage metrics, we believe it is prudent to reduce the distribution to increase SVC's liquidity and enhance our financial flexibility. The reduction in the distribution from the previous level will preserve approximately $127 million of SVC's liquidity annually. We are also planning to sell 114 hotels to generate additional liquidity and concentrate the Sonesta portfolio on full service hotels and certain higher performing focused service hotels. We expect these sales will also result in reduced capital expenditure and leverage, improve portfolio performance and better position SVC's hotel portfolio for the long term."

The hotels Sonesta will continue to manage are:

 
                                                       Net Carrying 
Service         Number of    Number of     Number of     Value (in 
Level            Hotels         Keys       States(1)     millions) 
------------   -----------  ------------  -----------  ------------- 
Full Service       39          12,868         21         $2,257.3 
Extended Stay      14          2,102           7          $157.7 
Select 
 Service            6           873            3           $47.0 
-------------  -----------  ------------  -----------  ------------- 
Total              59          15,843         25         $2,462.0 
(1) Includes two hotels in Toronto, Ontario, one hotel in Puerto 
 Rico and one hotel in Washington, D.C. 
 

The hotels being sold are:

 
                                                       Net Carrying 
                Number of    Number of     Number of     Value (in 
Brand            Hotels         Keys        States       millions) 
------------   -----------  ------------  -----------  ------------- 
Sonesta 
 Select            31          4,564          14          $241.7 
Sonesta ES 
 Suites            44          5,611          22          $427.4 
Sonesta 
 Simply 
 Suites            39          4,750          23          $180.9 
-------------  -----------  ------------  -----------  ------------- 
Total              114         14,925         28          $850.0 
 
 

The cash distribution will be paid to SVC's common shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 28, 2024, and distributed on or about November 14, 2024. SVC currently expects that its distribution to its common shareholders in 2024 will be at least equal to the minimum amounts required for SVC to remain a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal tax purposes.

SVC plans to discuss today's announcements further during its third quarter 2024 conference call scheduled for Thursday, November 7, 2024.

About Service Properties Trust

Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, with over $11 billion invested in two asset categories: hotels and service-focused retail net lease properties. As of June 30, 2024, SVC owned 220 hotels with over 37,000 guest rooms throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico and Canada, the majority of which are extended stay and select service. As of June 30, 2024, SVC also owned 749 retail service-focused net lease properties totaling over 13.3 million square feet throughout the United States. SVC is managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), a leading U.S. alternative asset management company with over $41 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2024, and more than 35 years of institutional experience in buying, selling, financing and operating commercial real estate. SVC is headquartered in Newton, MA. For more information, visit www.svcreit.com.

WARNING CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based upon SVC's present intent, beliefs and expectations, but these statements and the implications of these statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur for various reasons, some of which are beyond SVC's control. For example:

   -- In this press release, SVC states that it is reducing its regular 
      quarterly distribution to increase its liquidity and enhance financial 
      flexibility. However, SVC's Board of Trustees considers many factors when 
      setting or resetting SVC's distribution rate, including SVC's historical 
      and projected income, normalized funds from operations, cash available 
      for distribution, the then current and expected needs and availability of 
      cash to pay SVC's obligations and fund its investments, distributions 
      which may be required to be paid to maintain SVC's qualification for 
      taxation as a REIT and other factors deemed relevant by SVC's Board of 
      Trustees. Accordingly, future distributions to SVC's shareholders may be 
      increased or decreased and SVC cannot be sure as to the rate at which 
      future distributions will be paid. 
 
   -- In this press release, SVC states that it plans to sell 114 Sonesta 
      managed hotels in 2025 in order to generate liquidity, concentrate the 
      Sonesta portfolio on full service hotels and certain higher performing 
      focused service hotels, reduce capital expenditure and leverage, improve 
      portfolio performance and better position SVC's hotel portfolio for the 
      long term. SVC also states that it plans to use the net sales proceeds of 
      these sale transactions for the repayment of debt. However, SVC may not 
      succeed in selling properties and any sales may be delayed or may not 
      occur or, if sales do occur, the proceeds from the sales of such 
      properties may not be sufficient to allow SVC to reduce its leverage. 

You should not place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.

Except as required by law, SVC does not intend to update or change any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

A Maryland Real Estate Investment Trust with transferable shares of beneficial interest listed on the Nasdaq.

No shareholder, Trustee or officer is personally liable for any act or obligation of the Trust.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241015799982/en/

 
    CONTACT:    Kevin Barry, Senior Director, Investor Relations 

(617) 796-8232

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2024 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)