The five-year loan agreement saw MF&P refinance their Freehold owned, operational assets in Covent Garden, Kensington, Liverpool and Soho with a £55m debt facility.
Mactaggart Family & Partners, the majority owner of The Resident hotel group, has refinanced with NatWest, giving stability upon which to focus on expansion through further development projects and acquisitions.
The company said that there was increasing opportunity in the market, including the potential for growth through management contracts, given the increasing strength and awareness of The Resident offering.
The five-year loan agreement saw MF&P refinance their Freehold owned, operational assets in Covent Garden, Kensington, Liverpool and Soho with a £55m debt facility.
William Laxton, CEO, MF&P: “I am delighted that we have reaffirmed our successful relationship with NatWest with a perfectly fit-for-purpose senior financing that allows us to concentrate on the growth of the business, which is developing into one of our major strategies.
“Not everyone in the hotel sector will benefit from such a strong relationship with their lender and we expect to see the ramifications of this play out in the next couple of years. Many groups in the market will be finding themselves over-leveraged, particularly from a cash flow and debt service perspective, and this will mean some difficult conversations, which we expect to drive an increase in transactions, most notably where there is not the capacity to pay down senior and create a more stable capital stack with debt service headroom.
“We also anticipate that owners will be looking for more efficient business models, as operational pressures grow. The Resident model delivers a highly-rated, revenue driving product which, through features such as limited F&B, has simplified and lower risk operations that converts through to EBITDA very efficiently.”
David Orr, CEO, Resident Hotels, said: “The strength of the reputation of The Resident brand, which recovered its performance faster than peers following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, was a strong verifiable positive as the refi was negotiated.
“Reputation with guests and teams is fundamental to The Resident brand and Resident Hotels as a Hotel Operating Platform. The Resident Covent Garden was named by TripAdvisor as the best hotel in the UK for 2022, #1 in London, with all 4 in the top 30 in London. The Resident Liverpool is also #1 in that great city. It is recognition of the effort our team puts in every day, collaborating and working together to deliver hospitality respected and reciprocated.”
William Laxton: “David and his team are in the early stages of managing Cityroomz and Sleeperz as two new brands to the Resident Hotels stable, so we look forward to the future with nine hotels under management and growth plans already announced, with the tenth, The Resident Edinburgh, opening in 2024 and another very exciting approx. 125-bed London development also secured.”
Anthony Say, Head of Hotels, NatWest Corporate Banking, said: “We are delighted to continue supporting this high-quality hotel investor, developer, operator and brand.
“One of the attractions of The Resident is the support it gives its teams, which promotes valuable high retention rates and delivers the guest service which drives important loyalty. We look forward to continuing to support The Resident’s ambitions in the future.”
MF&P last year announced the sixth Resident location, with a new site in Edinburgh due to open in 2024. In addition to further developments, JVs and acquisitions, the brand has plans to add rooms through management contracts, with a total target of 1,500 to 2,000 rooms over the next seven years.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
