Atom completes £2.35m commercial mortgage for Mayfair hotel

Atom bank has announced that it has completed a £2.35 million commercial mortgage to support the reopening of a hotel in Mayfair, London.

The case was introduced by Gindy Mathoon, senior mortgage and protection adviser at broker Create Finance, while legal work was handled by Kimberly Crossman, commercial property solicitor at Square One Law.

The hotel had been closed for more than five years following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its new owners had struggled to raise the funding needed to reopen, with other lenders approached by Mathoon uncomfortable with the hotel sector generally, as well as with the buyers' perceived lack of industry experience.

Atom bank carried out extensive due diligence before structuring a deal that worked for all parties, allowing the hotel to resume trading.

"This case perfectly illustrates why so many brokers come to Atom bank with their commercial deals," said Spencer Ford, business development manager at Atom bank.

"The hotel sector is a complicated one, and that alone can put off some lenders, but it's an area in which we have built a formidable reputation.

"Similarly, other lenders struggle when the borrower doesn't have extensive experience, but as a lender on the side of SMEs, we prefer to focus on ways to make deals work rather than find reasons to walk away."

Mathoon, who operates as an AR of Optimum Elite Network, said the case had been rejected outright by around nine lenders before Atom bank took it on. "This deal had a few quirks and hurdles, as a result I had a straight 'no' from around nine lenders," she said. "Atom was willing to get into the details of the case and saw the potential.

"Spencer was brilliant on this deal, making himself available whenever needed, and providing a good sounding board on the various complications involved. Atom bank as a whole helped us come up with solutions to problems, rather than fixating on them. The rate was fantastic and the client is delighted as the hotel is now back up and running, you can't ask for more from a commercial lender."