Latest news: Six Senses Rome trades; Four Seasons refinance; Lindemann Hotels sell

Four Seasons refis. Real estate developer Fort Partners has reportedly refinanced its Four Seasons resorts in Surfside and Palm Beach, Florida, with a $410 million infusion. Citi Real Estate Funding and German American Capital will originate the four-year interest-only loan at a fixed 8.7% rate that will be used to repay the existing $345 million outstanding debt.

Six Senses Rome trades. Italian investor Gruppo Statuto has acquired the 96-room Six Senses Rome for a reported €245 million from London-based real estate investment manager Orion Capital. Earlier this year, Italian lender Banco BPM agreed a structured finance agreement worth €495 million with Gruppo Statuto and GWM Group, in partnership with asset management company ARECneprix. Gruppo Statuto’s portfolio includes several luxury Italian hotels, including the Four Seasons hotels in Milan and Taormina, Hotel Danieli in Venice, The Rome Edition, as well as the 162-room W Ibiza which the group acquired earlier this year.

McInerney develops in Georgia. McInerney Hospitality International has been appointed by Sunshine Hospitality and Management to manage the 150-room Courtyard by Marriott Batumi in Batumi, Georgia. In 2015, McInerney Hospitality International Georgia began working on a variety of hotel development projects in the country of Georgia. They have introduced several international hotel brands to the Black Sea region, including the Courtyard by Marriott Batumi and another Marriott under construction, a Hyatt Centric under construction in Batumi, a Hilton Garden Inn under construction in Kobuleti, and a Wyndham Grand and a Best Western in Tbilisi.

Legacy Ventures refi in Atlanta. National boutique real estate investment banking firm PMZ Realty Capital has arranged a $40 million refinancing loan for the 242-room Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Downtown. A European bank provided the five-year interest-only loan, and the borrower, Legacy Ventures, will be using the part proceeds to pay off the existing debt and contribute to reserves for a future property improvement plan (PIP). This was Legacy Ventures’ sixth transaction with PMZ, representing over $250 million of financing for its Atlanta hotel portfolio.

Four Seasons coming to Red Sea. Red Sea Global, the multi-project developer behind The Red Sea and Amaala tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia has completed an investment deal with Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Company to develop the Four Seasons Resort Red Sea. The SAR2 billion joint venture brings together the two entities in a 50/50 partnership to develop and own the resort expected to open in early 2025 on Shura Island, the main hub island at The Red Sea destination. It will offer 149 rooms and suites, plus 31 residential properties. Shura Island will be home to 11 resorts in total, and will include residential properties, an 18-hole golf course, a 118-berth marina, and a retail, dining, and entertainment experience.

New Sonesta CFO. Sonesta International Hotels Corp. has appointed Bob Gunkel as chief financial officer. Gunkel has most recently been an adjunct professor of Finance at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where he teaches Corporate Finance to MBA and Master of Finance graduate students. Gunkel was previously CFO for the Americas region for IHG and has held senior positions in asset management, financial planning and analysis, hotel development and financial reporting.

More Maui hotels coming online. All of West Maui except for burned-out sections of historic Lahaina will reopen to tourism on November 1, the mayor of Maui County said Monday. West Maui has about 11,000 hotel rooms, or about half of Maui’s total. Bissen said Monday that workers are ready to return to their jobs while acknowledging “this isn’t for everyone.”

Scottish castle trades. One of Scotland's oldest inhabited castles, the 35-room Dalhousie Castle & Aqueous Spa in Midlothian, which dates from the 13th century, has been sold for an undisclosed amount to a U.S.-based private buyer, Dalhousie Property Investments Ltd. The castle had been part of the luxury Robert Parker Hotel Collection and came to the market after operators Robert and Gina Parker announced their intention to retire in May of this year. Following the sale, Dalhousie Castle will be managed by hotel management company 7 Hospitality.

Excel Group refi in Florida. Berkadia’s Hotels & Hospitality has arranged the refinancing of the leasehold interest in the Hilton Garden Inn-Homewood Suites Jacksonville Downtown Southbank, a 221-key, dual-brand hotel located in Jacksonville, Florida. Berkadia secured the financing on behalf of Excel Group, a multi-disciplined hotel private equity firm focused on acquiring and developing premium-branded limited-service hotels. A regional bank provided the five-year loan, which will allow Excel Group to invest additional capital into the property.

Yangon hotel sold. Keppel Corp., Singapore, has completed the divestment of the 789-room Sedona Hotel Yangon in Myanmar to Singapore-based hotel company Spring Blossom Venture Pte. Ltd. for a reported $57.4 million. The price is more than the stated net asset value of approximately $43.9 million on February 28, 2023, according to Keppel Corp.

Berlin-based hotel group sold. U.K. and Germany-based Aurelius Growth Capital has acquired Berlin-based the Lindemann Hotels group, which owns four boutique hotels in Berlin. Aurelius stated it plans to scale the business in Germany, using the existing team.

Maverick grows portfolio. Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, Chicago, has added to its management portfolio the 84-room Riverview Inn & Suites, Ascend Hotel Collection in Rockford, Illinois.

Hilton in London approved for expansion. C1 Capital and partner Frogmore are looking for an equity partner having now secured planning permission to create a £450 million extension of the Hilton London Olympia near the Olympia London exhibition centre. The plan retains part of the existing structure while adding more than 500 rooms to create a property with 905 rooms. The existing London Hilton Olympia has had average occupancy levels in excess of 80% in 2023. With an additional 12 million visitors to Olympia, the partners said they are confident the new hotel will be extremely successful when it opens in 2027. Frogmore acquired the Hilton London Olympia Hotel, in partnership with C1 Capital, from HPL in April 2022.

Brookfield selling Seoul asset. Brookfield Asset Management is reportedly marketing for sale the Conrad Seoul in South Korea for more than $369.5 million. The Canadian alternative asset manager acquired the International Finance Center, comprised of the hotel, three office towers and a shopping mall, in 2016. Mirae Asset was set to acquire the entire property, but the deal broke down in September 2022 when the Korean government rejected the financing plan. With significant debt maturing next year, Brookfield is now trying to sell the hotel separate from the rest of the center.

Ovolo in Brisbane trades. Indonesia's Karim family, through its Invictus Developments, have acquired the 50-key The Inchcolm by Ovolo in Brisbane for A$25 million and the vacant former Bank of China building in Sydney near Wynward Station for a discounted A$52.5 million. Invictus plans to repurpose the latter into a luxury hotel, spending A$30 million on renovations, including a rooftop bar with a targeted opening of late 2025. With these acquisitions, Invictus now owns four hotels in Australia, including Harbour Rocks Hotel in Sydney and Quest Woolloongabba in Brisbane purchased for A$40 million and A$43.8 million respectively.