Pbb and Deutsche Hypo back W Hotel Amsterdam

Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (pbb) and Deutsche Hypo have provided a joint financing of the W Hotel in Amsterdam, which opened its doors last October.

The two German banks provided a total of €135 million to refinance the hotel. Pbb, which was lead manager in the deal, provided €85 million of the financing, while co-lead manager Deutsche Hypo provided the remaining €50 million. The deal closed in July 2016.

The loans were provided to various special purpose vehicles owned by Fentonir Trading and Investments Limited. W Hotels Worldwide, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, partially opened the hotel last October, marking its debut in the Netherlands. The hotel facilities are operated by Starwood. Liran Wizman’s Europe Hotels Private Collection and Entourage Group operate the restaurants and retail facilities.

The five-star W Hotel Amsterdam is located in the Dutch city’s old town, opposite the King’s Palace. The former Telephone Exchange Building and the former Kas bank building were redeveloped to create the new hotel.

Following the partial opening in the autumn of 2015, the project was completed in May 2016. The hotel has 238 rooms, three restaurants, a ‘W Lounge’ located on the sixth floor, plus conference facilities and retail space.

“Pbb maintains a dedicated team of sector experts for hotel financings. They have enabled the bank to finance hotels in Hamburg, Vienna and Amsterdam over the past few months. W Hotel Amsterdam enjoys a top location, and is run by a seasoned operator. We are thus pleased to support this development as a banking partner to this transaction. The Dutch market offers a wide variety of opportunities: pbb is happy to provide finance to selected partners, and for the right property,” said Norbert Müller, head of pbb’s real estate finance – continental Europe west unit.

“The appeal of the new W Hotel is the combination of a historical building with modern design. We are delighted to be financing the W brand’s first hotel in the Netherlands. The property complements our attractive portfolio of hotel financings; the transaction meanwhile showcases our significant expertise in this asset class, also in the Netherlands,” Sabine Barthauer, executive manager at Deutsche Hypo, added.