Cohort Capital has provided a £73m loan to a Qatari-based group to refinance the five-star NoMad Hotel in London’s Covent Garden.
The 91-bedroom boutique hotel is housed in a Grade II listed 18th century building, which was formerly the Bow Street Magistrates Court and Police Station.
The 170,000 sq ft building was extensively refurbished in 2018-20 and converted into a hotel, restaurant, bar and museum.
The hotel will continue to be operated by Sydell Group, which operates the US-based NoMad and other branded hotels, under a management agreement.
Bal Sohal, executive chairman of Cohort Capital, said: “Our substantial private capital backing allows us to agree flexible debt structures for large loans where there is a credible sponsor – as is the case here. We are seeing much higher demand for private specialist outfits like Cohort Capital, as high street banks are increasingly offering unfavourable terms for refinancing or seeking to reduce their exposure to certain real estate sectors. The NoMad hotel is an iconic property that will continue to flourish in what is arguably London’s prime tourist and cultural hotspot.”
Matt Thame, CEO of Cohort Capital, added: “As banks retrench further from real estate debt markets, larger debt funds with flexible balance sheet solutions won’t get out of bed for anything less than £100m. This has opened up a space in the property finance market where Cohort is staying very active.
“There is no doubt however that markets are contracting, and we can safely say the residential and commercial real estate sentiment is not yet on the up – which is why we are remaining extra selective on the sponsor, strategy and location of the asset. The hotel room performance at the NoMad is strong, and the F&B concept and plan is a compelling one.”
