- Founded by Bev King, Z Hotels launched its ‘compact luxury’ accommodation model in London with the opening of Z Soho in 2011;
- Since then, the hotel chain has experienced continued success with 14 sites now operational across London, Liverpool, Bath, and Glasgow;
- OakNorth initially provided bespoke funding to the group in 2018 to support new sites across central London in Covent Garden, Holborn, and Tottenham Court Road;
- The new £15m loan from OakNorth Bank will refinance an existing loan, support Z Hotels’ future growth, in addition to funding the construction of an additional 20 rooms at its Piccadilly location.
OakNorth Bank, the neobank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided a £15m loan to ‘compact luxury’ hotel chain, Z Hotels, to refinance an existing loan and support its future growth ambitions.
Founded by Bev King, Z Hotels launched its ‘compact luxury’ accommodation model in London with the opening of Z Soho in 2011. Since then, the hotel chain has experienced continued success with 14 sites now operational, including 11 in London and one each in Liverpool, Bath, and Glasgow, offering 1,710 bedrooms. The business has been an OakNorth customer for several years now, with it initially securing bespoke funding in 2018 to support its expansion of new sites across central London in Covent Garden, Holborn, and Tottenham Court Road.
Now returning to the neobank, the latest facility from OakNorth will also be used to refinance its current loan facilities and fund the construction of an additional 20 rooms at its Piccadilly location, taking its total number of rooms to 132, in addition to being used to develop new lift facilities and a new ground floor café.
Commenting on the deal, Bev King, CEO at Z Hotels, said: “Since our launch 12 years ago, the focus of our brand has continued to be very simple – offer consumers a chain of hotels that are positioned in central locations, with reasonable room rates, that come with modern and stylish designs and high-quality features throughout. OakNorth has now supported us on multiple transactions, and we see them as our trusted funding partner that has worked closely with us through the challenging times of both the pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis. With this latest facility from OakNorth, we are moving to work closer with its team and look forward to further growing the Z Hotels brand across the UK, whilst also expanding our site at Piccadilly.
Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director, Debt Finance at OakNorth, commented: “Z Hotels’ unique proposition has enabled it to build a broad and diverse portfolio in a relatively short space of time and achieve incredibly high occupancy consistently throughout the year. Their focus on high-quality rooms and a premium visitor experience is demonstrated through its 99% room-led revenue, five-star reviews, and an average occupancy across all its hotels of 96%. Further to this, Z Hotel’s resilience to the covid pandemic has been exceptional, with the business now exceeding pre-covid trading levels. We’re thrilled to once again have the opportunity to support a best-in-class team and look forward to working with them again in the future.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About OakNorth Bank plc
Launched in September 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs, OakNorth Bank provides fast, flexible, and accessible debt finance to the UK’s Missing Middle.
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £9.5bn, directly helping with the creation of 39,000 new jobs and 28,000 new homes across the UK.
- Raised deposits from c.175,000 savers.
- Supported several hundred businesses across the UK with the debt finance to pursue their growth ambitions.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.
Media contact
Tom Pavey-Smith, Associate Director, Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / 0791 716 5588