Two UK real estate credit investment firms, BlueWater and NorthWall have sealed Europe’s largest single asset hotel refinancing since Covid by providing a landmark £310 mln (€372 mln) refinancing for Shiva’s The BoTree hotel in Marylebone, London.

Under the deal, BlueWater Capital granted a £170 mln senior loan and NorthWall Capital lent £140 mln, refinancing an existing loan with Cale Street Real Estate Partners and Crosstree Investments. 

The BoTree occupies a prime West End location and provides 199 guestrooms and suites, a two-floor restaurant, neighbourhood bar and event spaces. The proceeds will enable Shiva Hotels to deliver on the next phase of the hotel’s capex programme, which will see the opening of a rooftop swimming pool and bar lounge, fitness and wellness space, along with private dining rooms and meeting spaces.

‘We are thrilled to be establishing two new blue-chip lending partnerships, which will enable us to continue our long-term strategy for The BoTree and our mission of bringing Conscious Luxury to the market,’ said Rishi Sachdev, CEO of Shiva Hotels. ‘The BoTree’s location and future potential, coupled with the hotel sector’s continued growth, saw us generate interest from a deep pool of funders keen to support us on this transaction. We have remained patient however, and have chosen two like-minded counterparties with the track record and expertise to support us on the next stage of our journey.’

The transaction comes only a week after Cedar Capital Partners completed a €400 mln recapitalisation with Ares Management Real Estate Secondaries funds for a portfolio of five leading lifestyle hotels in European gateway cities, in a further sign of investors’ confidence in the hotel sector. 

Buoyed by the continued revival in tourism and steady growth, hotel real estate has cemented its position as a core asset class for investors, with CBRE’s research showing that European hotel investment volumes climbed to €19.5 bn in 2024, an increase of 34% when compared to 2023, the largest year-on-year increase for any real estate sector across Europe.

Other loans announced this week include Zetland Capital’s £70 mln facility to refinance two four-star Marriott hotels in Manchester and Edinburgh. Provided by Leumi UK, the loan marks the second transaction between both companies after Leumi provided a €51m facility to refinance the Morrison Hotel in Dublin in 2023.

Also, ICG Real Estate lent £200 mln to Matter Real Estate for a residential portfolio in the UK and Castlelake and Niam financed a portfolio of over 30 prime residential, commercial and medium-stay properties in central Oslo as part of a new €1 bn financing platform.

In Italy banks Intesa Sanpaolo, Banco BPM, BNL BNP Paribas, BPER and Banca MPS provided an €180 mln loan for Il Centro di Arese, a Milan shopping centre, which will now be extended by landlord Finiper Canova.

 

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
Upper West mixed Berlin Schoeller Group Signa 55,000 m2 €450 The asset is the former headquarters of Signa in Germany.
later living portfolio living UK NA North Bay six assets £100 (€120) The vendor will continue to operate the six assets across the north of England it has sold.
Ynglingen 10 mixed Stockholm Stadsrum Fastigheter Fabege 11,000 m2 SEK 960 (€84) The property consists of a turn-of-the-century building with offices, residential and retail space.
Matrix C office building and Wilanów plot of land mixed Warsaw and Zagreb NA GTC 10,500 m2 €82 The sale of Matrix C generated €13 mln in free cash flow.
two buildings mixed Madrid and Seville Blasson Shaftesbury NA €70 The buyer will invest a further €55 mln to transform the Puerta de Alcalá asset into luxury housing and to launch a five-star hotel in Seville.
Options office building office Frankfurt Peakside Capital Advisors and Luwin Real Estate Amundi NA €65 More than half of the space is currently vacant.
plot of land development Kildare, Ireland Glenveagh NA 250 acres €55 Glenveagh’s land bank now has capacity for an estimated 20,000 homes.
Italian Embassy - 4-5 di Buckingam Gate office London Italian State Sidra Capital 3,000 m2 £45 (€54) The building previously housed the Metropolitan Police.
Johnson & Johnson former head office office Madrid Argis Living Fund II NA 250 apartments €51 The asset will be converted into 250 flex living spaces.
Panattoni Park Almere logistics Almere, the Netherlands Nestlé Newport Logistics Fund 23,420 m2 €50 Buyer Nestlé will use the site for production and distribution.
two assets at Via Crescenzago office Milan Arkea REIM, Sienna IM Goldman Sachs 35,000 m2 €50 The sale was made through the Cristoforo fund, managed by Prelios Sgr.
seven strip malls retail Romania M Core MAS PLC 32,000 m2 €49 The properties are located in Slobozia, Focșani, Râmnicu Sărat, Târgu Secuiesc, Sebeș, Făgăraș, and Gheorgheni.
Bryggan 2 public Malmö, Sweden Annehem ABG Fastena 7,600 m2 SEK 440 (€39) The property was built in 2019 by NCC and has tenants focused on community service such as City of Malmö, Region Skåne, Kirurgicentrum and Coop.
Portfolio of 3 assets living Oslo Syndicate (Njord) Øie Gruppen NA NOK 375 (€32) The sale encompasses three apartment buildings.
former BelaOlhão factory living Olhão, Portugal Carvoeiro Branco Zein Mayassi 500 apartments €10 The site will be converted into 500 apartments in a €300 mln project.
Fenix - Skålen 30 office Stockholm Humlegården Fastigheter Invesco RE 20,543 m2 NA Acquired by Invesco Real Estate in 2019, Skålen 30 underwent a complete rebuild, refurbishment and extension between 2020 and 2024.
three prime location assets logistics France Castignac NA 1,154,500 ft2 NA These acquisitions take the Castignac portfolio to 30 assets and projects worth over €1 bn under management.
Lagoon city project development Seville Forty Management NA 120,000 m2 NA The transaction is conditional on the seller obtaining the building authorization within a maximum of 18 months.
Wronia 31 office Warsaw Uniqa LaSalle IM 16,600 m2 NA The building was acquired by LaSalle in 2019.
Holstenkamp 1-3 asset mixed Hamburg Plaza Hotelgroup Union Investment 10,315 m2 NA The building had been part of the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund immofonds 1.
development land logistics Pomezia, Italy Logicor’s Mazer fund NA 200,000 m2 NA Plans are to develop two facilities of 29,000 m2 on the site.
logistic portfolio logistics St. Etienne and Avignon, France Catella Real Estate Vectura Immobilier 18,751 m2 NA The three properties were developed and managed by the French developer Vectura Immobilier.
Citygate office Manchester Investec Bank NA 47,000 ft2 NA The building underwent a comprehensive refurbishment in 2016 and is currently c. 90% occupied.
Logistic Park Montornés logistics Barcelona Generali Real Estate Scannell Properties España 13,000 m2 NA It is the first logistics acquisition by Generali in Spain.
logistics facility logistics Beaucaire, France Logicor Concerto 12,850 m2 NA Delivery is set for the first quarter of 2026.
brownfield site logistics Germany Swiss Life Asset Managers NA 100,000 m2 NA The buyer will develop an office building and a modern logistics property on the site.
four logistics assets logistics Northern Italy Starwood Capital Techbau 315,000 m2 NA The assets are located in Alessandria, Osio Sotto, Nogarole Rocca, and Castelguglielmo.
Park Center Sofia retail Sofia TSG Investment Revetas Group 22,000 m2 NA TSH Investment is a JV between Trinity Capital and HUS Invest.

 

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
Leipziger Platz Quartier mixed Berlin Arab Investments 125,000 m2 €800 NA The project includes about 80,000 m2 of retail space, a 250-bed hotel and a number of private apartments.
Temple Bar Inn hotel Dublin Heights Hospitality 101 rooms €50 JLL The property comes to market with full planning permission for the development of an additional 121 guestrooms.
a portfolio of enterprise units in Swords Enterprise Park office Dublin TWM 78,000 ft2 €17 NA The guide price equates to a net initial yield of 8.1%.
Pembroke Road office Dublin Irish Life Property Fund 30,000 ft2 €16.5 CBRE The sale reflects a running yield of 7.8%.
development site mixed Birmingham Sama Investment Group NA £7.5 (€9) BNP Paribas Real Estate The site has a gross development value of over £50 mln.
151 London Road office Edinburgh Caledonian Trust NA NA NA The 1970s-built property, known as St Margaret’s House, has been owned by Caledonian Trust since 1988.

 

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
BlueWater Capital and NorthWall Capital Shiva Hotels Group The BoTree in Marylebone, London £310 (€372) The loan represents the largest single-asset hotel refinancing completed in Europe since Covid.
        BlueWater Capital provided a mln senior loan and NorthWall Capital provided a £140 mln secured facility.
        The loan refinances an existing loan with Cale Street Real Estate Partners and Crosstree Investments.
ICG Real Estate Matter Six UK assets £200 (€240) The loan will finance a combination of direct developments, joint venture developments and forward fund transactions in the residential sector.
Intesa Sanpaolo, Banco BPM, BNL BNP Paribas, BPER and Banca MPS Finiper Canova Il Centro di Arese €180 The facility includes €40 mln to be used for the redevelopment of the Milan shopping centre.
Castlelake, Niam NA A portfolio of over 30 prime residential, commercial and medium-stay properties in central Oslo NOK1.900 (€162) The senior secured financing facility is part of a €1 bn financing platform set up by the two partners.
Leumi UK Zetland Capital Marriott hotels in Manchester and Edinburgh £70 (€84) Leumi previously provided Zetland with a €51 mln (£42.5 mln) facility to refinance the Morrison Hotel in Dublin.
Maslow Capital Heaton Group Berkeley Square Development £55 (€66) The development finance package will support the second phase of Heaton Group’s landmark Berkeley Square development in Salford, Greater Manchester.
        This latest tranche of funding follows Maslow’s initial £45 mln facility for Phase One.
NatWest Church of England Pensions Board Later living portfolio £50 (€60) The facility will be used to fund the acquisition of new homes for retired clergy.
Puma Property Finance Vita Vita Student Leazes Park £43 (€52) The facility will fund the development of a 260-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Newcastle.
Silbury Avanton Old Kent Road redevelopment £33 (€39.6) The loan increases Avanton’s existing £68 mln facility to £101 mln, which will fund the development of an additional 30 homes.
Maslow Capital Citu 87-unit District Lofts resi development in Leeds £18 (€22) The funding will facilitate completion of the development.
Firma Partners McGrath Group Residential-led scheme in west London NA The loan will support the £40 mln acquisition and subsequent development of a scheme with a value over £200 mln.

 

 

Funds on the market   
Firm Fund Strategy Details
L&G UK Affordable Housing Fund Developing affordable homes in the UK The vehicle raised an additional £130 mln in a second close.
      Launched in July 2024, the Affordable Housing Fund has now raised £510 mln, which is expected to deliver approximately 3,500-4,000 homes.
Argis Argis Living Fund II Developing apartments in Madrid. The fund is targeting a volume of €250 mln.