Latest HITs: Pandox buys in UK; Standard Sunset Strip news

Pandox buys in UK. Pandox AB, Stockholm, has acquired for a reported £53 million the newly renovated, 232-room Queens Hotel in central Leeds, U.K. The hotel will be operated as an independent brand under a new management agreement with Axiom Hospitality. The property is expected to deliver a stabilized yield of more than 9%.

Portfolio refinancing. Franklin BSP Realty Trust closed a $120 million loan facilitating the refinancing of a portfolio of 12 limited-service hotels (1,313 rooms) spread across six different hotel chains. Driftwood Capital provided a co-terminus mezzanine loan for $20 million at closing, for a combined loan of $140 million. Ten of the 12 assets recently received significant renovations and the remaining two assets are completing renovations. The deal, led by JLL, represents the sixth transaction where FBRT and Driftwood have provided a senior/mezzanine loan structure together. As of September 30, 2022, FBRT had over $6.3 billion of assets.

DiamondRock 4Q. DiamondRock Hospitality Co. beat the Street with 4Q22 earnings with total revenues +9.5%, RevPAR +6.7% and ADR +19.1% versus 2019 data. Adjusted FFO/share of $0.23 beat projections as did $67.4 million in Adjusted EBITDA. Hotel EBITDA of $77 million showed margins of +192 bps versus 4Q19. Top-line performance for January 2023 is also favorable with RevPAR +10.5% and ADR +22.5% versus 2019. The company did not provide 2023 earnings guidance.

Standard sold. The shuttered Standard Hotel on The Sunset Strip in Los Angeles has reportedly been acquired for about $112 million by hoteliers Ian Schrager and Ed Scheetz. It is not yet clear what the duo plans to do with the property sold by Rittersbacher Sunset LLC.