Bank Leumi UK signs £62m financing deal with Shiva Hotels
Leumi UK, the London-based subsidiary of Israel’s leading international bank, has closed a deal with hotel group Shiva Hotels to finance its latest high-end development, Middle Eight. Situated on Great Queen Street, between Holborn and Covent Garden, the hotel has been branded a “sustainable luxury lifestyle hotel” – featuring 180 bedrooms, 12 suites and multiple food and beverage outlets.
The deal comes as the latest in Leumi’s long-standing partnership with Shiva Hotels, with the bank having funded high-end projects including The Guardsman (formerly Vandon House). Middle Eight will begin taking reservations from February 2020 and is set to open its doors in May.
Louise Gillon, head of hotel finance at Leumi UK, says: “This latest development with the team at Shiva Hotels perfectly represents the type of transaction our hotel finance team is looking to fund. Thanks to the boutique nature of the bank, 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, adds: “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 – we very much look forward to seeing Middle Eight open its doors to guests later this year.”
Rishi Sachdev, managing director, Shiva Hotel, 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.
