OakNorth Bank completes refurbishment loan to The Jade Hotel, a family-run hotel in South Kensington

By Bridging Loan Directory 23rd July 2020

OakNorth Bank – the UK bank powered by OakNorth – has completed a loan to The Jade Hotel, a family-owned and operated hotel in South Kensington, to help fund expansion and renovations, including redecorating rooms and adding five more, refitting bathrooms, and making repairs to the roof and front exterior.

Purchased in the mid 1980’s, the hotel has been in operation since 1984 and was converted from a 5-storey terraced house into a 30-bedroom hotel in 2011. The 3-star hotel is located less than 100 yards from Earls Court Underground Station with connections to Heathrow Airport via the Piccadilly Line, and is within walking distance to Knightsbridge, Harrods and the famous Museum Mile.

Khalida Khalid, Owner of The Jade Hotel, said:

“Securing this capital at this time is a clear testament to OakNorth Bank’s willingness to continue supporting the hospitality sector at a time when many of its peers are retrenching from the market. This capital gives us the opportunity to conduct renovations and ensure we can host additional guests once international travel reopens. Deepesh and the rest of the team at OakNorth Bank clearly know the hotel sector well and were incredibly transparent throughout the entire borrowing process.”

Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth Bank, commented:

“While there’s never a good time to do renovations, the lockdown provides the Khalid family with an opportunity to increase room capacity without having to disturb hotel guests. Similar to one of our earlier hotel deals, these renovations put The Jade Hotel in a good spot to accommodate a larger number of guests, in anticipation of a boom in international travel in the coming months. It’s been a pleasure working with a family that shares the same passion and entrepreneurial drive as OakNorth Bank.”