Qatari’s Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Compay is in talks with lenders to refinance the W Hotel at Leicester Square in London, said two sources familiar with the situation.
The refinancing talks come more than a year after HSBC extended a circa £160 million loan because talks to refinance the property had failed. Macquarie had been looking to refinance the property, said the first source.
ARTIC, part of Al Faisal Holding, which was founded by chairman Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani in 1964, bought the property at 10 Wardour Street, Soho, in November 2011 for £200 million, according to CoStar data. The property has 216,197 square feet of hotel space and 38,803 square feet of retail space on the lower floors. Chocolate maker M&M occupies the retail space at £2 million a year, according to CoStar data.
A complicating factor in refinancing the deal is uncertainty over the tenancy of M&M, said the second source. It is unclear whether it will extend the lease, the source said.
ARTIC, Al Faisal Holding and Mars, the parent company of M&M, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.