Savoy close to £290m debt pile refinancing
THE owners of London’s lavish Savoy Hotel are understood to be closing in on a deal to roll over almost £290m of debt after tapping up two European banks to take on the borrowings.
The iconic hotel, which was snapped up in a joint venture by Lloyds Banking Group’s Bank of Scotland unit and Saudi business tycoon Al Waleed Bin Talal, is in talks to syndicate the £287m debt pile with two European banks. The debt is owned by Lloyds Banking Group, meaning Lloyds has both an equity stake and a debt stake in the hotel.
The directors of the hotel have been pushing hard to strike a deal for the past six months, ahead of the debt’s maturity at the end of this year. It is understood French bank Crédit Agricole and German fund manager Deka are in line to refinance the debt. Lloyds Banking Group declined to comment.