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UK: Real estate lender Cohort Capital has completed a £20 million senior loan secured against a prime luxury serviced apartment building in Soho, London.
The 24-month bridging facility refinances an existing private bank loan and provides additional equity release against a freehold site at 37 Golden Square, Soho.
The borrower acquired the property in 2015 before redeveloping the site as a luxury serviced apartment scheme. Arranged over eight floors, the property includes 22 apartments alongside a triplex penthouse spanning the sixth to eighth floors, featuring two private terraces and dedicated lift access.
The sponsor – a high-net worth individual – required a refinancing after the incumbent private bank determined the asset no longer met its lending criteria.
Matt Thame, co-founder and CEO of Cohort Capital, said: “Increasingly, we are seeing private banks step away from high-quality assets because their lending criteria have changed or because they’re focusing lending on clients with larger assets under management. This dynamic is generating significant demand for gap capital among experienced borrowers looking for certainty at refinancing, despite owning assets that are performing strongly.
“Serviced apartments and hospitality assets have demonstrated strong fundamentals and are managed by increasingly sophisticated operators. At the same time, parts of the traditional buy-to-let market are becoming more challenging as regulation evolves, creating opportunities for professionally managed operational assets. This is an area where we expect to deploy significantly more capital over the coming years, recognising that underwriting operational real estate requires specialist expertise to properly evaluate underlying performance and forward business plans,” he added.
Highlights:
- Cohort Capital has completed a £20 million senior loan secured against a luxury serviced apartment building at 37 Golden Square in Soho, London.
- The 24-month bridging facility refinances an existing private bank loan and provides additional equity release against the freehold property.
- The Soho serviced apartment scheme comprises 22 apartments and a triplex penthouse with two private terraces.
