News & Analysis

Veld writes €63m loan from €1bn flagship credit fund

The AnaCap Financial Partners’ spin-out has financed a Dutch hotel portfolio owned by hospitality specialist Gr8 hotels.

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London-based credit specialist Veld Capital has originated a €63 million loan to specialist hospitality operator Gr8 Hotels for its hotel portfolio in the Netherlands.

The loan will be used to refinance a portfolio of 10 assets located across the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Maastricht and Breda.

“The strong quality and performance of the assets, coupled with the current dynamics of the Dutch hotel market, characterised by strong operational growth and limited new supply, make this portfolio an ideal investment,” said Sebastien Wigdo, partner at Veld Capital.

Dutch bank ING published a report in May on the hospitality market in the Netherlands, predicting a 1 percent growth in investment volumes in 2024. It stated the hospitality sector in the country recovered from covid-19 travel restrictions in 2022 and is on track to maintain stable growth.

Gr8 Hotels was founded by three Van der Valk family members, the founders and owners of the Van der Valk hotel group, which operates more than 100 hotels globally. It said the refinancing by Veld will allow Gr8 Hotels to continue to drive its strong operational performance and benefit from the current positive market dynamics of the Dutch hospitality sector.

It is understood that the capital came from Veld’s AnaCap Credit Opportunities IV, a legacy fund it closed while still being part of London-based investment firm AnaCap Financial Partners. The fund closed in September 2019, raising €1 billion in equity – 70 percent larger than its predecessor.

Veld, which consisted of AnaCap’s credit investment business, launched in 2022. The loan is understood to be one of the firm’s largest real estate backed loans.

The asset class has seen a significant traction from global lenders, earlier this month US manager Ares Management Corporation and alternative asset managers Värde Partners and Waterfall Asset Management provided a €762 million loan to UK-headquartered private equity firm Queensgate Investments to refinance its global hotel portfolio.