$150M refinancing secured for the iconic Fairmont San Francisco

LOS ANGELES, December 2, 2020 – JLL Hotels & Hospitality announced today that it has arranged a $150 million refinancing for the 606-key, historic Fairmont San Francisco. On behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Global Investments, JLL secured a five-year, non-recourse loan through United Overseas Bank.

“This transaction is one of several recent closings that illustrates the increased availability of debt for high-quality hotels with strong sponsorship and good pre-COVID performance,” said Kevin Davis, a Senior Managing Director in JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group, where he heads the Hotel Investment Banking team nationally.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Fairmont first opened in 1907 and is famously known for hosting every U.S. President since William Howard Taft, celebrities and also for being the first hotel in the country to offer concierge service.

Since 2015, the Fairmont San Francisco has undergone $16 million in renovations to public areas, guestrooms and infrastructure items. The landmark hotel contains 62 suites alongside traditional guest rooms, over 45,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a ballroom, retail outlets, fitness center, business center, in-room dining and premier restaurants such as Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar and Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar.

The hotel re-opened in September after suspending operations in April due to the pandemic.

“Despite the challenges faced by the hotel sector, this financing opportunity was well-subscribed at various leverage levels,” noted Mike Huth, an Executive Vice President with JLL’s Hotel Investment Banking team. “Ultimately, our client opted for a lower leverage loan with a much lower interest rate.”

JLL’s Hotel Investment Banking team is in the market with over $1 billion in hotel financing requests, and the closing of this transaction is illustrative of the recovering hotel debt market dynamics as outlined in the latest Hospitality Debt Market Commentary.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor over the last five years, totaling $83 billion worldwide. The group’s 350-strong global team in over 20 countries also closed more than 7,350 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments. Our hotel valuation, brokerage, asset management and consultancy services have helped more hotel investors, owners and operators achieve high returns on their assets than any other real estate advisor in the world.

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