OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs and structured real estate lender, REL Finance, have completed a £16.6m co-loan to JMK Group, a family-run hospitality business.
JMK’s story began when an entrepreneur, John Kajani, made “a decision to move from textiles to the hospitality industry.”
With a strong work ethic and an eagerness to succeed, he opened a small boutique hotel in Kensington in 2009, unaware it would later “grow into an extensive portfolio of hotels, properties and coffee houses” across the UK and Ireland, known as the ‘JMK Group’.
The £16.6m co-loan from OakNorth and REL Finance will be used to acquire a five-storey Grade II listed office block and “convert it into a new 185-key hotel, subject to receiving planning permission.”
The site, located in the heart of the City of London along St. Clement Lane, is an area known for its business community and historical significance.
This acquisition aligns with JMK Group’s vision to enhance the commercial landscape of London by transforming “outdated office spaces into a hotel with state-of-the-art facilities that cater to modern business and recreational needs.”
Zain Kajani, Director of JMK Group, said:
“At JMK Group, we pride ourselves on being a strong privately-owned company that puts people at the heart of everything we do. We’ve experienced rapid business growth since our establishment in 2009 and now have an extensive portfolio which is constantly evolving. We are constantly looking towards the future, with this acquisition of the St. Clement Lane site a prime example of this, so we’re grateful to the OakNorth and REL Finance teams for their support in this transaction. Following the success of our initial transaction with OakNorth in August 2022, we knew they would once again be the right funding partner for us.”
Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, continued:
“JMK continues to be an incredibly strong family business, with ambitious plans for the future. This transaction represented an exciting opportunity to facilitate a new deal with an existing customer, that has built up an excellent portfolio and track record for creating highly successful hotels, across the UK and Ireland. We look forward to continuing to support the Group with its future growth, in particular with acquisitions of new assets to further strengthen its portfolio.”
Sumeer Bose, Director at REL Finance, added:
“REL Finance is dedicated to supporting high-quality sponsors in repurposing commercial real estate in prime locations within the UK. JMK is a prominent group with exceptional in-house capabilities to transform properties such as these. We are pleased to strengthen our existing relationship with OakNorth Bank, whom we consider a strategic partner in CRE loans.”
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, “empowering the lower mid-market (businesses with £1m-£100m turnover) to support growth, prosperity, and innovation for the benefit of all.”
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £12bn to these businesses, directly helping with the creation of 47,000 new jobs and 29,000 new homes across the UK;
- Provide deposit services to over c.285,000 savers.
- It is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
REL Finance provides tailored real estate finance solutions that empowers businesses and entrepreneurs to “access flexible capital that match their property aspirations.”
The firm provides capital across the stack “at senior, mezzanine and JV levels with ticket sizes ranging from £3m to £30m.”
Since inception in April 2023, REL Finance has deployed capital in “excess of £70m across a variety of CRE strategies including hospitality, office, prime residential and industrial.”