Zetland Capital, advised by Westfort Advisors, has kickstarted an expansion of its portfolio of pubs across London and the south of England with the acquisition of five establishments, including three in Brighton, with a £40M facility provided by OakNorth Bank, the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.

After a hugely challenging period, abated by government stimulus and senior lender forbearance, the UK hotel sector is starting to receive positive forecasts for 2022 with some indicating a 25% increase in occupancy and 9% increase in ADR across the UK and a 63% increase in occupancy and 33% increase in ADR for London alone.

Westfort Advisors acted for Zetland Capital Partners LLP (Zetland) as the sole arranger of an acquisition and capex facility, underwritten by Starwood European Finance Partners Limited (Starwood); enabling the purchase and repositioning of the 338-bedroom Macdonald Manchester Hotel and the 156-bedroom Macdonald Holyrood Hotel in Edinburgh.