MWB extends £348m loans

MWB Group this week extended £348m of loan facilities that were due to expire at the end of this year for a further two years.

The facilities provided by Bank of Scotland Corporate and the Royal Bank of Scotland are three separate loans to MWB, its hotel division, which comprises the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels, and the MWB Business Exchange serviced offices division.

As a result, MWB’s shortest loan expiry date is now the facility department store group, which runs to 30 September 2010.

Chief executive Richard Balfour-Lynn said: “It is in the group’s long-term interests to extend these facilities, given the current level of illiquidity in the financial markets, and I strongly believe that this confirms the robustness of our business model and the excellent relationship we have with our financing partners.”

News of the refinancing coincided with MWB’s 2008 results, which showed a 31.5% drop in net asset value to 174p a share.

The value of MWB’s properties fell by 14% to £566m and property gearing was 63% at the end of last year.

MWB’s pretax loss was reduced by 28% from £13.8m in 2007 to £278m.

It has no plans to open any new hotels this year.

Property Week, May 2009.