You are here:

Orient-Express Hotels completes €35m refinancing with European bank syndicate

13 Sep 2012 10:34 GMT

Luxury hotel group, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. has completed a €35m refinancing of its two Sicilian hotels, Grand Hotel Timeo and Villa Sant’Andrea both based in the historic town of Taormina.

Following the successful December 2010 refinancing of Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Hotel Caruso in Ravello, Villa San Michele in Florence and Hotel Splendido and Splendido Mare in Portofino, the loan facility has now been increased to accommodate the refinancing of the company’s two Sicilian hotels.

The facility involves a consortium of domestic and international banks led by Barclays and Crédit Agricole CIB, and includes Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Aareal Bank AG and Banca IMI. The new 3.5 year facility follows the recently completed refurbishment of both hotels.

Crédit Agricole CIB also acted as Facility Agent.

Built in 1873, the luxury Grand Hotel Timeo comprises 70 rooms and suites, and sits in the centre of the hilltop town, with views of both the coastline and Mount Etna. Its sister hotel, Villa Sant’Andrea, has 60 bedrooms and is located on an exclusive beach on the Bay of Mazzaro in the heart of the seaside district.

Tim Helliwell, Head of Hotel Finance at Barclays, said: “Orient-Express is an iconic brand, which is going from strength to strength in a highly competitive market. Our established relationship with the Group and ability to work closely with domestic and international parties ensured we were able to tailor this facility to appropriately meet this celebrated brand’s needs as it looks to its future.”

On behalf of Crédit Agricole CIB, Neal Ledger, Global Relationship Director for Orient-Express Hotels said: “The Lenders are very pleased to have had the opportunity to add these two prestigious Sicilian hotels to the existing financing of Orient-Express’s impressive portfolio of Italian assets. We look forward to working further with the Group through our international network.”

Nicola Meles, Head of the Italian Real Estate and Hotel Finance team for Crédit Agricole CIB said: “The success of this financing further confirms the ability of Orient-Express to access the liquidity of the Italian banking market thanks to the outstanding quality of their hotel portfolio as well as their prestigious brand.”

Martin O'Grady, Chief Financial Officer, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. said: “We are pleased to have successfully completed the refinancing of our Sicilian hotels. We appreciate the continued support from our lenders, whose confidence reflects the quality of these assets and the strength of the Orient-Express operation.”


About Barclays

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays’ purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com.