Reuben Family Plan £180m Fund for London’s Admiralty Arch

Main Photo: Admiralty Arch, London…courtesy Hilton Waldorf Astoria

Date: December 2021

Name: Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch

Location: The Mall, London, England, UK

Number of Keys: 100+

Owner/Seller: Prime Investors Capital (PIC)

Lender/Buyer: Reuben Family

The billionaire Reuben family is closing in on a £180m deal to further fund the transformation of Admiralty Arch into a luxury hotel and apartment complex.

The Admiralty Arch gatehouse leads from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, at the heart of London. Completed in 1912 as a memorial to Queen Victoria, news of the redevelopment was first announced in 2013.

Prime Investors Capital (PIC), a vehicle headed by Rafael Serrano, has owned Admiralty Arch since 2015 and has a 250-year lease on the Admiralty Arch site, having paid the government £60 million. In 2017, PIC struck a deal with Hilton to convert part of the site into a Waldorf Astoria hotel that – due to its location – will become one of the capital’s most significant new hotel openings in decades. According to Admiralty Arch, 12 hotel groups expressed interested in managing the property which was set to feature 100 rooms and suites, two restaurants and a spa.

The prolific Reuben real estate developers and investors have agreed the terms of a new loan with PIC. Sources say the new loan would replace an existing £110m facility extended to Mr Serrano by the Reubens last year. The deal could also lead to the Reubens taking a “significant” minority equity stake in the Admiralty Arch development.

The Reubens have amassed one of central London’s most valuable property portfolios over several decades, including a string of flagship buildings in the West End.

Mr Serrano’s Prime Investors Capital vehicle developed the 5-star Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge, which it invested less than £125m in, was sold for around £300m in 2015 and is now reckoned to be valued at more around £500m.

Mr Serrano originally agreed a loan with the Reuben family at the end of 2019, when he sought to replace an £80m debt facility put in place by Sabadell, the Spanish bank which owns the British high street lender TSB.

Commissioned in memory of Queen Victoria, the arch was designed by Sir Aston Webb, who was also responsible for The Mall and the main facade at Buckingham Palace. Admiralty Arch has housed the official residences of the First Sea Lords as well as becoming a centre for clandestine wartime intelligence efforts and a Royal Navy outpost. More recently, it served as a base for the Cabinet Office, but was sold in an attempt to raise funds for the public purse.

The sale to Mr Serrano’s vehicle was originally agreed in 2012. The redevelopment was originally targeted for completion this year, although the hotel and residences are now expected to open in 2023.

The Reubens have built a vast business empire comprising property assets, data centres, technology company stakes and interests in leisure and aviation and recently an increasing interest in hotels, in some fab locations in Europe.

Among their investments are Arena Leisure, the racing group, the London Heliport in Battersea and a stake in Newcastle United alongside the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

In the real estate sector, the family’s assets have included the In & Out Club and the Grade II-listed Burlington Arcade on Piccadilly and the John Lewis Partnership’s head office near Victoria.…and until 2019 they were the largest shareholder in Belmond, at the time of it’s sale to LVMH.

Price: £180 million investment

THPT Comment: One of London’s most exciting hotel developments in many years is now one step closer. Mr Serrano has faltered slightly on completing the project but this sign of faith from the Reuben family will no doubt bolster the confidence of all….especially Hilton keeping their pledge with the Waldorf Astoria badge

First Seen: Sky.com

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