The deal is to refinance and consolidate existing loan arrangements covering Stanhill Court Hotel, an English country manor hotel, and View Hotel, which boasts stunning sea views off the southeast coast.
Dave Mellish, who is the co-owner and founder of Rees Mellish Hotel Management alongside Mark Rees, said: “We are really pleased to have completed on the financing of Stanhill Court and View Hotel with The Cumberland.
“We were really impressed by the proactive nature and strong lines of communication with Derek, our Business Development Manager. He is incredibly knowledgeable and understanding of the challenges the hospitality sector has faced in recent years.”
Dave continued: “Post-pandemic, our debt repayments increased rapidly, and the lack of flexibility shown by our existing lenders around the structure of our facilities highlighted to us a lack of support.
“The Cumberland really listened to us, took the time to understand our business and then were incredibly flexible with us with the structured package they offered. It was an easy decision to go with them.”
Derek Smith, Business Development Manager at The Cumberland, said: “Dave and Mark are really experienced and knowledgeable hoteliers and it has been a pleasure working with them to complete the refinance of the two properties.
“At The Cumberland, we’re really proud to support the hospitality industry and this new addition to our portfolio solidifies our commitment to supporting experienced business owners in the sector to achieve their dreams.”
The pair were introduced to The Cumberland through broker Samuel Kalms from Kalms Property Finance who they say was ‘instrumental’ in helping the deal to succeed.
Samuel said: “We are delighted to have arranged the refinance of these two impressive hotels on behalf of our client Rees Mellish. It was a pleasure working with The Cumberland on these transactions. Derek’s knowledge of the hotel market and his proactive commercial approach helped overcome any challenges and allowed for a smooth finance process. We are looking forward to working with both parties again in the near future.”
Another strong pull for The Cumberland was Rees Mellish’s alignment with The Cumberland’s Kinder Banking purpose.
Derek continued: “At The Cumberland, our Kinder Banking commitment is to ensure we positively impact our communities, our people and our environment. I know that both hotels are considered to be at the heart of their local communities and Mark and Dave have ambitions to continue to grow their positive impact on the environment. It was clear to see from an early stage in our discussions that our values were very much aligned.”
For more information on Stanhill Court hotel, please click here.
For more information on View hotel, please click here.
For more information on The Cumberland Building Society, please click here.