Lone Star Funds, the United States-based private equity firm which exited the United Kingdom market in 2018, is providing a £100 million-plus loan to UK real estate company The Ability Group, according to a report by PERE News.
The loan is aimed to refinance four of the group’s Hilton-branded assets (in Liverpool, Dunblane Scotland, London Syan Park and Luton Hampton) and is provided through Lone Star Real Estate Fund VI.
Lone Star had first entered the UK hospitality market as an active buyer of hotel assets following the financial crisis of 2008. It launched its hotel investment and management company Amaris Hospitality in 2015, bringing together its portfolio of 89 UK, and subsequently sold it to LRC Group in 2018.
The loan marks the company’s return to the UK hospitality market, in what is expected to be a growing trend of investors seeking opportunities through debt deals.