The Shenzhen New World Group has snapped up the foreclosed Los Angeles Marriott Downtown, in a deal worth a reported $60 million.

The Chinese real estate development company has stated in will invest $13 million renovating the 469-room property, which caters to business travellers.

Los Angeles Marriott Downtown last sold for $115 million – to the Namco Capital Group - in 2007, but prices have continued to fall amid the economic slump in the United States.

Hotel industry revenue began to plummet in October 2008 as the economy deteriorated, and lender GE Capital foreclosed on the downtown Marriott last summer.

The five-star hotel is located at 3rd and Figueroa streets in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, proximate to Bunker Hill and Los Angeles’s primary office space core.

“We appreciate the Shenzhen New World Group investment in our community and look forward to new investments in LA County in the future,” said Vance Baugham, president of the World Trade Centre of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which facilitated the acquisition.

Shenzhen New World Group is a privately held commercial real estate developer that has diversified into retail, hotel management, information technology and restaurants.

Based in the city of Shenzhen, it has assets of $292 million.