OakNorth Bank provides £5.5M loan to Thai Square Hotels as the business seeks to expand its portfolio in London

  • Thai Square Hotels is part of Rossmoregate Group, which is known for its chain of restaurants, Thai Square;
  • The capital from OakNorth Bank will refinance an existing loan on a 4-star hotel within Thai Square’s portfolio, Hotel Indigo London – Tower Hill, which is managed by IHG;
  • It will also support Thai Square Hotels’ future growth as the business seeks planning permission to open additional hotels in London;
  • Prior to COVID-19, Hotel Indigo London – Tower Hill, was experiencing 94% occupancy thanks to its proximity to several popular tourist attractions.

OakNorth Bank – the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – has provided a £5.5M loan to Thai Square Hotels, which is part of Rossmoregate Group.

The group is known for Thai Square Restaurants, a chain with 15 Thai-themed 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, he 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, a 49-bedroom, 4-star hotel which has been managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) since 2013.

Prior to the pandemic, the hotel boasted a 94% occupancy rate, and has a 4.5-star rating on Tripadvisor, and a 9.0 rating on Booking.com. The hotel is located within walking distance of popular tourist attractions including: the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Lanthorn Tower and the Shard, so is expected to benefit from the staycation boom this year. The loan from OakNorth Bank will also support future growth in Thai Square Hotels’ portfolio as it seeks planning permission to open additional hotels in London.

Haim Danous, Director of Thai Square Hotels, 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, commented: “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.”

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.

It has borrowers across a variety of sectors, including: healthcare (nursing homes and retirement villages), consumer goods, vehicle and parts manufacturing, capital goods manufacturing, household professional services (including educational services), nurseries, business support services, hospitality and recreation (including hotels, resorts, restaurants and bars, fast food outlets and limited service restaurants), SME residential and commercial property development and investment.

It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Visit wordpress-test-website.oaknorth-it.com for more information.

Contact

Valentina Kristensen, Director – Growth & Communications: [email protected] / 0757 234 9009

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