UK: Thai Square Hotels, part of Rossmoregate Group, will use the bank loan for expansions in London.
Thai Square Hotels is known for its restaurant chain, Thai Square, which has 15 locations in London and the south-east. Entrepreneur Haim Danous founded Thai Square in 1996.
The £5.5m loan from OakNorth Bank will refinance an existing loan on a Thai Square hotel – Hotel Indigo London – Tower Hill, managed by IHG. The loan will also support the business’ future plans to open more 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. We found their entrepreneurial and commercial approach refreshing and appreciated the time they took to understand our business. There were no off-the-shelf solutions or computer-says-no decisions.”
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.”
