Aparthotel operator Staycity Group has agreed a five-year £30 million loan facility with OakNorth Bank as it looks to guard against a potential economic slowdown.
The new backing from OakNorth Bank sees the conversion of a £15 million COVID support loan granted in 2020 become a regular loan facility. Staycity’s like-for-like revPAR and operating margins are now ahead of 2019 levels.
Staycity has around €55 million of liquidity and an expectation of being debt-free in three years. Further contingency has also been provided by ISIF, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which has extended Staycity’s credit facility from €20 million to €30 million for five years if required.
At the same time, Staycity has also opened its seventh property in Dublin, giving it nearly 1,200 apartments in its home city. It now has a total of 32 European properties with 340 studio and one-bed apartments.
What they said
Tom Walsh, Staycity co-founder and CEO, said: “Staycity is going into 2023 in a strong position with trading this year having surpassed our expectations. Our sales have been driven by leisure recovery and growth through our corporate channels. We are also pleased that our guest scores across both brands are very high. Looking forward, we’re cautious as all businesses are facing a number of macro economic threats including high levels of inflation, rising energy costs and the on-going impact of the war in Ukraine.
“With these new OakNorth and ISIF facilities in place we have contingency plans if the economy moves into recession. We are immensely proud and grateful for the on-going support and recognition we have from these two institutions.”