Orca Holding subsidiary receives £26.3m loan to merge two hotels in London

Specialist property lender Leumi UK has agreed to deliver a £26.3m loan to Zorca Holding for the acquisition and merging of two Georgian hotels in London's Bloomsbury.

Zorca Holding, a subsidiary of the investment company Orca Holding, will refurbish two Grade II-listed assets near the British Museum into a single 74-bedroom hotel with a bar, restaurant and events space, scheduled to open in late 2024.

It marks Leumi UK's second deal with Orca Holdings since it provided funding for the acquisition of the Zetter Group hotels.

Laith Pharaon of Orca Holding said: "The London hotels market has proved itself to be incredibly robust in the aftermath of the pandemic and in the face of difficult macroeconomic headwinds, with high-end hotels in particular proving remarkably resilient to inflation. Despite the increase in VAT, London has continued to deliver its highest level of profitability since the start of the pandemic."

Orca's past investments include Hyatt and Four Seasons-branded projects in Latin America and the Six Senses resort and spa company in Asia.

CBRE acted as valuers, while Bird and Bird acted as Leumi UK's legal counsel for this transaction.