American private investment firm Starwood Capital has acquired four distressed London hotels and a luxury residential block once operated by serviced apartment provider Think.
In August last year the firm issued a statement saying that some of the properties it operated were experiencing ownership problems, which resulted in them being placed into administration. It claimed the action was “completely separate” from the Think Apartments operating company.
“Following a period of significant growth under their management, the properties managed by Think experienced ownership problems in the autumn of 2013,” the statement said. “When loans secured from Irish lenders over a decade ago to develop London aparthotels were called in by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) resulting in the administration of some of the property owning companies that Think operates.”
At the time Think’s managing director, Jim Souter, confirmed a number of properties had been placed under the administration of restructuring specialists Duff & Phelps, but stressed that it was “a private legal matter between the Irish banking system and the owner” and that all the companies were “completely separate legal entities” from Think.
All five companies — Aparthotels (Bermondsey) Ltd; Aparthotels (Tower Bridge) Ltd; Mazey Properties Ltd; Tower Bridge Road Developments Ltd, and Warwick Road Developments Ltd — were wholly-owned subsidiaries of London City Group and Holdings Limited (LCGH), which is also Think’s parent company.
LCGH is 99-per cent owned by Graham Harris, the sole director of both the operating company Think and the various property companies owning the buildings managed by Think.
“It is not Think Apartments that has been placed into administration,” added Souter. “in fact, Think Apartments has been an extremely successful operation company over the past four-and-a-half years … Unfortunately, Think has lost the right to operate these buildings as a result of these properties being taken into administration.”
Under the restructuring deal and sale Duff & Phelps claims that creditors of all five individual property owning companies, including Ireland’s NAMA, have now all been paid in full.
The four “apartment-hotels” — located in Bermondsey, London Bridge, Earls Court and Kensington — and the Bermondsey residential complex were bought by Connecticut-headquarter Starwood for a figure reported to be around £206m.
“Our efforts, in conjunction with the lawyers at DLA Piper, have resulted in the portfolio kept whole and continuing to trade, as well as all creditors being paid in full,” explained Duff & Phelps managing director, Geoffrey Bouchier.
He claimed that: “Under their new ownership the properties and their respective operations are in a stronger position to carry their business into the future.”
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