JMK Group secures £15m loan for Seraphine buyout and refurb

Family-run hotel business, JMK Group, has secured a loan of £15m to fund the freehold buyout of its Seraphine hotels in Kensington and Hammersmith. 

The group said the capital will also support the upgrading of its Seraphine hotel in Kensington which will include refurbishing the hotel’s 40 existing rooms and turning it into a new 4-star boutique hotel.

JMK Group is a privately owned hospitality group founded in 2009, which started as a small boutique hotel in Kensington. Since then its portfolio has grown into a collection of hotels, properties, and coffee houses across London and Ireland.

Zain Kajani, director of JMK Group, said: “The hospitality market is ever-changing, so as a future-orientated company, we are always looking forward and regularly review our business strategy to ensure we’re staying on top of emerging trends and customer expectations. 

“The freehold buyouts and upgrades to Seraphine Olympia are prime examples of this, so we’re grateful to the OakNorth Bank team for their support in this transaction. We had a funding experience in the past with another bank where we waited six months for them to come back to us with a “no”, so to work with a lender that moves quickly and transparently was a very refreshing experience.” 

He added: “We were at the credit committee about three weeks after we met the team for the first time, which is pretty incredible.”

Hilton Foster, director of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, who issued the loan, said: “JMK is an incredibly strong family business with ambitious plans for the future. The freehold buyout was a sensitive and complex negotiation that required a lender who understands the market and could work with JMK to get the deal done under the right terms. 

“We are excited to continue supporting the group with its future growth, in particular acquisitions of new assets to build its portfolio.”