Hospitality group Edyn has secured an additional £105 million in funding to accelerate the European expansion of its serviced apartment brand Locke.
The funding expands on the £195 million multi-asset debt facility agreed in 2021 with Blackstone Mortgage Trust and KSL Capital Partners’ European Capital Solutions platform, which supported the acquisition and development of five new Locke and Cove projects.
The new funding will support the development of two new properties in Zurich and Lisbon under the group’s Locke brand.
The Lisbon development will be a conversion of a historic Portuguese convent, located close to Avenida da Liberdade in the city centre. Scheduled to open in 2023, the 21,090 sqm property will be the largest Locke property to date.
The property will feature 369 keys, two restaurants, three cocktail bars, a café and co-working space, swimming pool, courtyards, a gym and meeting rooms.
We also recently reported on Edyn’s acquisition of the Hotel Ascot in Zurich, which is set to open in 2023 with 80 rooms, a restaurant, bar and coffee shop.
Merzak Kaddour, Investment Director at Edyn, said:
“We are excited to grow our relationship with Blackstone and KSL ECS, who have been supportive partners as we focus on driving forward our ambitious strategy for edyn and its brands. Both bring significant experience and sector expertise, along with deep knowledge of the European market. We look forward to building our partnership with them in the years to come.”
Steve Plavin, senior managing director, Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, added: “We are delighted to finance edyn in its brand extension across Europe. With KSL as a great lending partner, we look forward to seeing edyn enter these key cities.”
Hal Shaw, partner and head of European Capital Solutions at KSL, also commented:
“We are very pleased to serve as a long-term capital provider to edyn as it continues to execute its growth strategy in Europe, and to partner once again with Blackstone to provide a financing solution for the acquisition and transformation of these two assets.”
The Locke brand was launched in 2016, and is named after 17th century English philosopher and physician John Locke. It currently comprises 11 properties and 1,768 keys across five markets in the UK and mainland Europe.
