Shiva Hotels
Posted: 12th February 2021 | Share
“Leumi UK was a natural fit for us having successfully partnered with them on a number of previous projects. They have a solid understanding of our business and were able to tailor the facility to suit our needs in a quick, efficient manner."
A privately owned, UK-based hospitality group founded in 2003, Shiva Hotels is a long-standing partner of Leumi UK.
Shiva Hotels owns four locations in London and one in York which operate as part of the world-famous Hilton franchise. But as of 2020, Shiva also began adding a number of unbranded luxury hotels to its portfolio in prime locations across London. These include The Guardsman and Middle Eight both of which were funded by Leumi UK’s Hotel Finance team.
The Guardsman is a purpose-built luxury boutique hotel formerly known as Vandon House and is situated not far from London’s Buckingham Palace. It comprises 53 bedrooms and six exclusive residences, as well as a private on-site restaurant. Shiva saw this as the first step in a new direction for the group as it branched out from branded to independent hotels. As a trusted partner on previous projects, Leumi UK was approached by the group to fund the new development.
“Thanks to our long-term partnership with the Shiva team, we knew their business well and trusted them to deliver,” says Louise Gillon, Leumi UK’s Head of Hotel Finance.
“Our knowledge of the current market and our existing relationship meant that we were able to provide a financing deal for just over £20 million.”
Shiva’s other unbranded development Middle Eight is located on Great Queen Street, between Holborn and Covent Garden, and is branded as a ‘sustainable luxury lifestyle hotel’. It features 180 bedrooms, 12 suites and multiple food and beverage outlets. Leumi UK was able to provide £62 million to finance the development.
“The Middle Eight project perfectly represents the type of transaction our team is looking to fund,” explains Louise.
She adds: “The boutique nature of the bank means we are able to offer more flexible facilities compared to others in the market, giving us the freedom to support innovative, sustainable projects such as Middle Eight.”
James Greenwood, Relationship Manager, Hotel Finance, comments: “It was great to work with Shiva Hotels once again and this project was the perfect fit for us due to its prime location. Given our close relationship with the team, we were able to follow the deal through to completion.”
Rishi Sachdev, managing director, Shiva Hotels, comments: “Leumi UK was a natural fit for us having successfully partnered with them on a number of previous projects. They have a solid understanding of our business and were able to tailor the facility to suit our needs in a quick, efficient manner that will see Middle Eight open its doors to the public this May. We greatly appreciate the support we have received from the Leumi UK team on our projects to date and look forward to those to come.”
Offering sophisticated, specialist financing for development companies, investment funds and owner-operators of hotels, Leumi UK’s hotel financing department takes pride in maintaining close relationships with its clients and its ability to address the specific needs of hotel operators and owners in prime city-centre locations.