Dominus Sells Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre for £74M to Millemont Capital Partners in Largest UK Regional Hotel Deal of 2026

Dominus has completed the sale of the Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre to Millemont Capital Partners for £74 million, with JLL serving as advisor on the transaction. Announced June 18, 2026, the deal represents the largest urban single-asset hotel transaction outside of London so far this year, underscoring Oxford's standing as one of the UK's most closely watched hotel investment markets.

Deal Details: A Full-Cycle Exit After 12 Years

The 160-room property, which includes nine rooms added through a recently completed roof extension, has been held by Dominus since 2014, when the firm acquired the site — then an obsolete industrial building — in an off-market transaction. Dominus navigated a complex planning environment to secure permission for hotel use, delivered the conversion, and opened the hotel in 2019 under the Courtyard by Marriott brand. The firm operated the asset through its in-house platform for approximately seven years before electing to exit.

At £74 million across 160 keys, the transaction implies a price of roughly £462,500 per room. No debt terms, loan-to-value figures, or capitalization rate were disclosed by the parties.

Preet Ahluwalia, CEO of Dominus, described the sale as a deliberate capital rotation. "The successful development of the Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre and seven years of exceptional trading reflects our ability to create value across the full project lifecycle, from investment through planning, development and operations," Ahluwalia said. "After 12 years of ownership, now is the right time for us to realise that value and reinvest the capital into new, value-add hotel asset management and development opportunities."

The hotel has reported occupancy consistently above 90% since opening and is ranked the number one hotel in Oxford on TripAdvisor. It has held Green Key Accreditation — a recognized hotel sustainability certification — since 2023.

Millemont Capital Partners Expands UK Hotel Portfolio

For Millemont Capital Partners, the Oxford acquisition continues a period of active deal-making. Ashley Shaw, Co-founder and CEO of Millemont Capital Partners, said the firm has completed more than £150 million of transactions in the first half of 2026 alone, and that its portfolio now exceeds 1,000 keys with over £350 million in closed transactions since 2021.

"This acquisition reflects our continued focus on securing high-quality, operationally resilient hotel assets in strong UK markets," Shaw said. "Oxford's exceptional mix of leisure, academic and corporate demand makes it one of the most attractive hotel markets in the UK. We look forward to working closely with our operating partner, TROO Hospitality, to further enhance the asset's performance and unlock its full potential."

Shaw added that the deal "underscores our positive outlook on both the UK hospitality sector and the broader real estate market." Millemont has stated plans to acquire a further ten hotels over the next three years as it builds out a diversified UK portfolio. The London-based firm's strategy centers on two approaches: acquiring income-generating hotels in high-demand city markets and pursuing value-add and opportunistic assets where repositioning or capital investment can drive above-market performance.

Oxford's Supply-Constrained Market Drives Investor Appetite

The transaction highlights Oxford's structural position as a high-barrier hotel market. The city's stringent planning controls and heritage protections have kept new hotel supply growth modest even as demand has expanded, enabling what the parties describe as sustained outperformance against national benchmarks.

Oxford's demand base spans leisure tourism driven by its historic colleges and cultural attractions, academic traffic associated with its internationally acclaimed universities, and an established corporate and life sciences presence. That combination of demand drivers has supported the kind of occupancy consistency — above 90% — that Dominus reported for the Courtyard property.

Will Duffey, Head of EMEA Hotels & Hospitality at JLL, said the deal reaffirms Oxford's position in the top tier of UK hotel markets. "This milestone transaction demonstrates our team's ability to secure exceptional assets in markets defined by both scarcity and sustained demand, reaffirming Oxford's position among the UK's best performing and attractive hotel markets," Duffey said.

Firm Backgrounds

Dominus describes itself as a real estate investor, developer, owner, and operator with an asset portfolio of £3 billion, specializing in the hotel and student living sectors. Its operational hotel portfolio, managed through its in-house platform Dominus Hospitality, totals over 1,000 rooms and includes properties in London and Bath operating under Hilton and Marriott brand families. The firm also reports more than 1,700 keys in its hotel development pipeline across London.

Millemont Capital Partners is a London-based private equity real estate platform focused on hospitality assets across core UK locations. The firm's investment approach combines income-generating acquisitions with value-add repositioning strategies.

JLL, which advised on the transaction, is a global commercial real estate services and investment management firm with annual revenue of $26.1 billion and operations in over 80 countries.

Sources

JLL Newsroom: Dominus sells Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre for £74 million to Millemont Capital Partners (June 18, 2026)