London-based merchant bank CBE Capital signed an agreement for a €95 million ($102 million) senior-bond loan facility from Greek financial institution Piraeus Bank for what it describes as a “club-deal investment.”
The investment will partly fund a new Six Senses-branded hotel — part of IHG Hotels & Resorts' brand family — that will also have branded residences.
This is the first time funding arrangements have been released for the project, which IHG first announced last August.
The hotel, with 60 hotel suites and 12 branded residences, will be developed in Porto Heli — also known as Porto Cheli — in the southeastern part of the Argolis region on the Greek mainland. The resort will be located across the Sardonic Gulf from Athens and close to the popular island tourism destinations of Hydra and Spetses.
This is slated to be Six Senses' debut in Greece, with opening of the property set for 2026.
Last May, IHG announced a partnership with Athens-based Grivalia Hospitality for another Six Senses hotel on the island of Megalonisos. This hotel, with 75 hotel suites and 20 branded residences, is projected to open by the end of 2027. Megalonisos is located to the west of Athens across another gulf, the Petolioi or Petalion.
CBE said the funds will partly finance the entire €150 million Six Senses Porto Heli hotel and development, “which is already being enlarged by the purchase of additional adjacent land,” according to a news release.
Greek family office Golden Land Goutos, London-based Cedar Capital Partners and New York City-based Taconic Capital Advisors will supply additional equity in a joint venture.
CBE said all the financing now is complete.
Two private marinas are also part of the development.
Geza Toth-Feher, managing partner at CBE, said the agreement shows that deals can be done in a period of economic uncertainty.
“Our Greek debt transaction bucks a trend in the Eurozone and the U.S. It shows that high-quality transactions, despite difficult market conditions, can still be financed,” he said.
Ramsey Mankarious, managing director of Cedar Capital, spoke recently on the debt landscape in Europe during a hospitality financing webinar hosted by HVS, Bird & Bird, AlixPartners and EP Business in Hospitality.