Luxury London hotel secures refinancing to avoid being sold

THE five-star BoTree hotel close to London’s Oxford Street has secured a £310 million (S$520 million) refinancing that will avert a sale.

BlueWater Capital is providing £170 million of senior debt while NorthWall Capital is providing a £140 million secured facility that will allow the property’s developer to retain control, according to a statement on Thursday (Feb 6).

The building, located on Marylebone Lane, a redeveloped former car park, was put up for sale through broker Jones Lang LaSalle in October as lenders Cale Street Partners and Crosstree Real Estate Partners sought to recoup the roughly £275 million they had lent against it, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

The refinancing deal will allow Shiva Hotels Group, the UK-focused hotel owner and operator, to complete the remaining two floors of the property, which has so far cost about £375 million to build.

“This transaction aligns with our strategy to finance top-tier businesses and assets, further reinforcing NorthWall’s leadership in the alternative credit market, amid increasing opportunities as banks scale back in private credit,” NorthWall founding partner and portfolio manager Alexander Garnier said.

Shiva originally bought the site for about £100 million in 2016. The business, founded by former Lehman Brothers derivatives trader Rishi Sachdev, was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and then hit hard by rising interest rates.

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