Investment

Dominvs secures funding

Dominvs Group has successfully secured £68.5m in fresh funding, facilitated by Coutts and Clydesdale Bank in two separate facilities.

The £48m from Coutts will allow for the development of a new Hampton by Hilton hotel in Aldgate, and a £20.5m investment loan from Clydesdale Bank for the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Oxford.

Dominvs Group said that the successful raising of funding for both projects reflected the firm’s good banking relationships and confidence in the group’s development and operational capabilities, alongside rising optimism in the UK hotel industry after the start of Covid-19 vaccination programme in the UK.

The hotel at 12-20 Osborn Street in Aldgate, formerly the Arbor City Hotel, was purchased by Dominvs Group in October 2018 and planning was granted for a new larger hotel scheme on the site during Q4 2018. The new £48m of funding from Coutts covers the refinance of the original acquisition loan for the site and allows for the development of the new 118,000 sqft 278- key Hampton by Hilton London City hotel, with practical build completion scheduled for June 2023.

The new five storey Hampton by Hilton London City hotel will comprise the refurbishment of the existing hotel plus a new-build extension, with the construction undertaken by leading contractor McAleer and Rushe. Alongside 278 rooms and suites, the new hotel will provide meeting, dining and events space including a cinema room and large function room. The hotel is located in the heart of East London by Brick Lane, an area undergoing significant investment from Tower Hamlets Council, and just five minutes from the City of London.

Located in the historic centre of Oxford, close to the Oxford University buildings and libraries, the Courtyard by Marriott Oxford City Centre hotel is situated at 15 Paradise Street overlooking the Castle Mill Stream canal on both sides. The hotel was completed in July 2019, with an 11-room extension opened in January 2020.

The 151-key hotel achieved over 50% occupancy rates during the summer of 2020. The new investment of £20.5m from Clydesdale Bank refinances an incumbent loan that funded the development of the building and ensured that construction was on schedule.

The site at Paradise Street was purchased by Dominvs Group in October 2014 and was formerly the HQ of Cooper Callas, a kitchen and bathroom distributor. Dominvs Group obtained planning for a 140-key hotel in 2017 with the construction undertaken by McAleer and Rushe.

Preeptal Ahluwalia, director at Dominvs Group, said: “Dominvs Group is delighted to have successfully secured £68.5m of fresh bank funding which allows for the development of our new Hampton by Hilton branded hotel in London’s Aldgate and has refinanced our Courtyard by Marriott branded hotel in Oxford.

“The successful funding reflects our good banking relationships and confidence in the group’s development and operational capabilities, alongside rising optimism in the UK hotel industry following the start of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the UK. It is excellent to see confidence in the hotel industry returning and these two hotels are well-placed to benefit from the gradual return of both domestic and overseas visitors to London and Oxford, two of the UK’s most popular tourist and business trip hotspots and destinations of increasing hotel need.”