Ritz Hotel Cape Town poised for sale: A new chapter for Sea Point's iconic landmark

Located on the popular Atlantic Seaboard, the Ritz Hotel Cape Town is on the brink of being sold for R240-300 million to either a Dutch or French company. 

Bruce Hendricks, MD of Hendricks Harmse Attorneys, one of the representatives of the owners and whose company is managing the Ritz Hotel building, confirmed they were deep in negotiations for the sale, with some i's to be dotted and some t's to be crossed.

"Depending on the final stages of these negotiations, the sale could go through by next Friday," he said.

Hendricks could neither confirm or deny the amount the owner had accepted for the sale nor with whom they are negotiating.

There were still some final issues being negotiated and that would be the deciding factor on whether the building will put up a "sold" sign next Friday.

It is believed the deal is being brokered by a local estate agency via a private person with international connection and that the buyer (a consortium) is said to be going to continue with the renovations of the building.

This was not the first offer taken to the owners, with the hotel in a prime position and ripe for renovation and upliftment.

South African developers were themselves vying for ownership.

"It's a prime piece of property - 23 storeys which you won't be able to get approval for again in Sea Point - with some bulk available for extra development," said one agent.

A stop-over at the once fashionable, fabulous and desirable Ritz Hotel Cape Town this week, had it locked up and looking anything but glamourous.

Rumours have been swirling since Nicky van der Walt and his company in 2018 soft launched the hotel with what was at the time rumoured to have been a R120 million rejuvenation.

But its planned reopening was ultimately unsuccessful when the Cape Town High Court ordered Van de Walt's management company to vacate the building in July 2018, effectively halting the reopening. 

Some agents on Cape Town's exclusive Atlantic Seaboard say it's a done deal, saying it would elevate the area - once the full renovations were done - and add to the already hefty price tag for apartments in Sea Point.

At present "you can forget about" getting a two-bed of even 75m2 - even without parking - for anything under R3m, they say.

But the renovations to upgrade The Ritz could take years still, and it won't happen overnight.

Cape Argus