New Reporter
07-07-23, 11:03
Link Hotel owners stave off forced sale with financing to repay S$51 million loan
Jul 06, 2023
LINK Hotel Singapore has been taken off the market after its owner, Hang Huo Investment, obtained a loan from Swettenham Capital to repay a S$51 million loan owed to DBS.
The loan, obtained in June, will provide S$55 million to Hang Huo Investment at an interest rate of 11 per cent per annum. It is secured by a mortgage over the hotel.
The sum will also go towards financing the working capital of Hang Huo Investment and repaying costs incurred in the loan process, parent company Link Holdings said in a Hong Kong Exchange filing on Jun 26.
Following full repayment of the outstanding loan, FTI Consulting, which was previously appointed receiver and manager of Link Hotel Singapore, has been discharged. The boutique hotel in Tiong Bahru will continue to operate and retain all existing staff. The property had been put up for sale in April.
The hotel was valued at close to S$140 million by an independent qualified valuer in late 2022, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Business Times (BT) understands that the hotel will be looking at retaking a loan at a lower interest cost from another commercial bank within the next few months.
Link Holdings incurred a HK$11.1 million (S$1.9 million) loss for the three months ended Mar 31, 2023.
The hotel sits on a site with about 43 years remaining on a 100-year lease dated from Jan 1, 1967, from the Singapore Tourism Board, and is permitted for use as a “hotel and backpackers’ hostel”.
Previously, Hang Huo Investment had failed to repay DBS as it was unable to proceed with refinancing or related activities due to an injunction order from the High Court of Hong Kong. The injunction order was made after Link Holdings failed to repay HK$55.6 million that it owed to Hong Kong-based financial services company CMI Financial Holding.
Speaking to BT on Wednesday (Jul 5), He Dingding, chief executive officer of Link Holdings, said: “We have been in dialogue with CMI Financial Holding from the very beginning and kept them updated on all our progress. We showed them the terms of this current refinancing and obtained their consent in time for the drawdown to happen.”
Half of the hotel has been set aside as Covid quarantine accommodation for Singapore residents as part of a government contract, which has been extended until December 2023.
“We are quite confident (about) the outlook (for) the Singapore tourism industry, and we think the situation will get much better this year,” said George Chen, managing director of Link Hotel International.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/link-hotel-owners-stave-forced-sale-financing-repay-s51-million-loan
Jul 06, 2023
LINK Hotel Singapore has been taken off the market after its owner, Hang Huo Investment, obtained a loan from Swettenham Capital to repay a S$51 million loan owed to DBS.
The loan, obtained in June, will provide S$55 million to Hang Huo Investment at an interest rate of 11 per cent per annum. It is secured by a mortgage over the hotel.
The sum will also go towards financing the working capital of Hang Huo Investment and repaying costs incurred in the loan process, parent company Link Holdings said in a Hong Kong Exchange filing on Jun 26.
Following full repayment of the outstanding loan, FTI Consulting, which was previously appointed receiver and manager of Link Hotel Singapore, has been discharged. The boutique hotel in Tiong Bahru will continue to operate and retain all existing staff. The property had been put up for sale in April.
The hotel was valued at close to S$140 million by an independent qualified valuer in late 2022, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The Business Times (BT) understands that the hotel will be looking at retaking a loan at a lower interest cost from another commercial bank within the next few months.
Link Holdings incurred a HK$11.1 million (S$1.9 million) loss for the three months ended Mar 31, 2023.
The hotel sits on a site with about 43 years remaining on a 100-year lease dated from Jan 1, 1967, from the Singapore Tourism Board, and is permitted for use as a “hotel and backpackers’ hostel”.
Previously, Hang Huo Investment had failed to repay DBS as it was unable to proceed with refinancing or related activities due to an injunction order from the High Court of Hong Kong. The injunction order was made after Link Holdings failed to repay HK$55.6 million that it owed to Hong Kong-based financial services company CMI Financial Holding.
Speaking to BT on Wednesday (Jul 5), He Dingding, chief executive officer of Link Holdings, said: “We have been in dialogue with CMI Financial Holding from the very beginning and kept them updated on all our progress. We showed them the terms of this current refinancing and obtained their consent in time for the drawdown to happen.”
Half of the hotel has been set aside as Covid quarantine accommodation for Singapore residents as part of a government contract, which has been extended until December 2023.
“We are quite confident (about) the outlook (for) the Singapore tourism industry, and we think the situation will get much better this year,” said George Chen, managing director of Link Hotel International.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/link-hotel-owners-stave-forced-sale-financing-repay-s51-million-loan