The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has provided debt funding to Sir Richard Sutton Estates Limited (SRSE) in support of its acquisition of the Athenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly in the Mayfair area of central London. In addition, RBS will make further funding available for the refurbishment of the hotel’s public areas which is expected to commence at the beginning of 2016. The new design will transform the view of the iconic building from the street and its relationship with the area’s public realm while significantly enhancing visitors’ arrival and food & beverage experience.
SRSE is also pleased to work with Ralph Trustees Limited who, with their expertise in the luxury and upper scale hotel sector, will continue to operate the Athenaeum Hotel going forward under a management agreement with SRSE.
Christopher Lacey, Managing Director of SRSE, commented: “The RBS Hotels Team took time to understand our corporate strategy, which is to focus on our hotel and hospitality businesses, which along with farming form the principal future direction for SRSE. This understanding allowed RBS to deliver a banking package that suited our needs. Their deep hotel sector expertise means we look forward to working with them again as we seek to expand our activities in the sector.”
Anthony Say, Relationship Director at RBS said: “We are delighted to have been able to support the Estate’s strategy of acquiring and operating hotel businesses, and to assist in funding meaningful enhancements to this prime London hotel asset. We look forward to continuing to work with the business and seeing the next phase in the prestigious hotel’s evolution.”
