Independent hotel owner and operator Perseus Group has completed on secured senior and mezzanine facilities totalling €93 mln.
The loans, from funds managed and advised by Cheyne Capital, will be used to finance the conversion of the Hôtel du Couvent in Nice and refinance the existing debt of the Hotel Le Pigalle in Paris.
Hotel du Couvent is a 16th century former convent that is being transformed into a luxury 5* destination hotel. Meanwhile, Le Pigalle is a lifestyle 4* neighbourhood hotel that has been awarded several international accolades.
The financing has enabled the successful exit of Platina International, Perseus’s long-term investor, which has been supporting the group since 2011. Valéry Grégo, Perseus’s founder and CEO, becomes majority shareholder.
Said Grégo: '2021 is a pivotal year for Perseus to secure these facilities, 10 years after the inception of Perseus. We are pleased to partner with Cheyne who have been instrumental in providing financing that suits Perseus’s long-term objectives of value creation, strategic vision and streamlined capital structure.'
Added Raphael Smadja, head of French Real Estate at Cheyne Capital: 'While the hotel sector was severely hit by the Covid pandemic, we have seen a surge in demand since restrictions have eased and believe that under the careful management of the Perseus Group, both the Hotel Le Pigalle and Hotel du Couvent are well positioned to capitalise on this. We look forward to working with Valéry and his team in this venture.'
Perseus and Valéry Grégo were advised by Lakefield Capital (Aurélien Lanfray), Ekapartners (Éric Toulemonde) as financial advisors, and BFR Associés (Romain Rabillard) and Ebl-Redsky Avocats (Adrien Hannoteau, Thomas Sion) as legal counsels, and Etudes 14-Pyramides as Notary (Laurent Franchi, Ludivine Drouin).
Cheyne was advised by BCLP (Henry Ranchon, Cyrille Rumen), Strelia (Frederic Heremans, Samantha Kabeya, Jean-Luc Dascotte) as legal counsels and Étude Lasaygues (Notary, Francois Gauthier).
Platina was advised by K&L Gates (Jeroen Smets) as legal counsels.
