Thai Square Hotels secures £5.5m towards London expansion
Thai Square Hotels, part of Rossmoregate Group, known for its chain of Thai Square restaurants, has secured £5.5m towards expanding its portfolio in London.
Rossmoregate Group has 15 Thai restaurants in London and the south-east. Thai Square was founded in 1996 by serial entrepreneur Haim Danous when the first branch opened on the Strand in central London.
Since then, Danous has expanded the group's portfolio to include hotels and other property investments. The capital from OakNorth Bank will be used to refinance an existing loan on Hotel Indigo London - Tower Hill (pictured), a 49-bedroom property that has been managed by IHG Hotels & Resorts since 2013.
The loan will also support future growth in Thai Square Hotels' portfolio as it seeks planning permission to open additional hotels in London.
Danous said: "With the UK easing out of lockdown and hotels allowed to re-open this month, we're hoping to return to pre-Covid occupancy levels later this year. While international and business travel will likely remain muted for some time, we expect to see strong demand from domestic travellers who will be attracted by the hotel's central location and sizeable rooms. In the meantime, we're seeking planning permission to expand our hotel portfolio in London, so there will no doubt be further opportunities to work with the OakNorth Bank team."
Deepesh Thakrar, senior debt finance director at OakNorth Bank, said: "The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest-hit by the pandemic, but it's important not to paint every business within a sector with the same brush. This is a hotel with a very strong occupancy track record, excellent consumer ratings, a prime central London location, and that is managed by one of the largest and most successful operator groups. We're therefore confident that it will be able to rebound when domestic travel resumes and take advantage of the increase in staycationers. Haim has managed to build a successful restaurant portfolio, so we're excited about the opportunity to help him and the team replicate this in hotels too."
