UK: OakNorth Bank has completed a £15 million loan to JMK Group to fund the freehold buyout of its Seraphine hotels in Kensington and Hammersmith.
The capital will also support the upgrade of the Seraphine hotel in Kensington, transforming it into a four-star boutique hotel.
JMK is a family-run, privately owned hospitality group founded in 2009 by John Kajani. Since the opening of the group’s first hotel in Kensington, the portfolio has grown to include additional hotels, properties and coffee houses across London and Ireland.
Zain Kajani, director of JMK Group, said: “The hospitality market is ever-changing, so as a future-orientated company, we are always looking forward and regularly review our business strategy to ensure we’re staying on top of emerging trends and customer expectations.
“The freehold buyouts and upgrades to Seraphine Olympia are prime examples of this, so we’re grateful to the OakNorth Bank team for their support in this transaction. We had a funding experience in the past with another bank where we waited six months for them to come back to us with a “no”, so to work with a lender that moves quickly and transparently was a very refreshing experience. We were at credit committee about three weeks after we met the team for the first time, which is pretty incredible.”
Hilton Foster, director of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “JMK is an incredibly strong family business with ambitious plans for the future. The freehold buyout was a sensitive and complex negotiation that required a lender who understands the market and could work with JMK to get the deal done under the right terms. We are excited to continue supporting the group with its future growth, in particular acquisitions of new assets to build its portfolio.”
