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1. Rome Edition refinanced to tune of €96 million
Investment firm Global Hospitality Investment Group has closed on its refinancing of the 93-room Rome Edition hotel with the issue of €96 million ($109 million) of senior secured notes. GHIG said in a news release that the "financing was structured with a London-based, credit-focused hedge fund."
The financing is to allow owner Gruppo Statuto to refinance its existing development loan. The hotel opened in the summer of 2023. Sébastien Gottraux, GHIG’s vice president, said the “transaction marks GHIG’s first deal in Italy after many years of exploring the market for the right opportunity.”
2. One-third of UK hospitality business running at loss
A joint statement from UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association, The British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster claims that the United Kingdom government’s recent budget changes have resulted in an additional £3.4 billion in costs and one-third of all hospitality businesses running at a loss. The U.K. government announced the changes in October and they came into effect this April.
The two budget changes that have added the most pressure have been to business rates and employer National Insurance contributions, both of which have contributed to the 33% measure of hospitality businesses operating at a loss, an 11% increase from the last quarter, the signees said.
“The government must act urgently to mitigate for the changes to Employer NICs and also deliver on its promise of root and brand Business Rates reform. The overall tax burden on our sector must be reduced, including consideration of the long-standing ask of a [value-added tax] cut for the sector, so the hospitality industry can return to investment, job creation, and growth in communities the length and breadth of the country,” they added.
3. UK's first redesign of air routes since 1950s
On June 2, the U.K. government laid out plans to redesign the skies above and around the country to facilitate new, improved and more direct air routes. It said changes instigated by the new UK Airspace Design Service — fully operational by the end of this year — will aid airport expansion and economic growth.
The U.K. Department for Transport said that current air routes were devised in the 1950s, an era in which there were only 200,000 flights in U.K. skies; there were 2.7 million flights seen in full-year 2024.
The initial focus, the Department of Transport said, “will be on redesigning London’s airspace, with expansion at Heathrow (Airport) alone expected to create over 100,000 extra jobs, turbocharge economic growth, strengthen the UK’s status as a global hub and deliver major benefits for airlines and passengers.”
4. India’s Leela Hotels marks first publicly listed day with more than 6% discount
Indian hotel owner Schloss Bangalore, whose assets include Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, saw its shares listed at 406 Indian rupees ($4.76) a share on its first day of being publicly listed on the National Stock Exchange of India. The number represents a more than 6% discount on its issue price, according to newspaper Business Standard.
Schloss Bangalore’s initial public offering was planned to be at a significant discount, the company said in May. CoStar News Hotels wrote on May 21 that the “planned issue slashes approximately 30% from [its] initial application of approximately 50 billion Indian rupees ($584 million) back on Sept. 20, 2024. The new offering values the Bengaluru-based firm’s IPO at approximately $409 million.” Leela has 3,553 rooms in 13 hotels.
5. Asian manufacturing sector output falls in May in shadow of US tariffs
Manufacturing output from Asia fell in May, according to The Wall Street Journal, which said “uncertainty over U.S. tariffs continued to cause steep declines in new orders.” The WSJ said an S&P Global report underlined “sharp declines in new orders during the month” in Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.
South Korea saw a notable decrease, the WSJ said, with May’s data showing it suffered its sharpest fall in new orders since June 2020. It did, however, add that increases in employment were enjoyed in both South Korea and Japan, where “manufacturers sought to build capacity in anticipation of improvements in global demand conditions.”