ValueXpress has arranged a $30-million CMBS conduit loan for a portfolio of six hotels located in the Southeast. The portfolio consists of four limited-service hotels, one select service hotel and one extended-stay hotel. The properties range in size from 75 to 100 rooms. The hotels operate under a variety of franchises, including InterContinental Hotels Group and Choice Hotels International. The loan was crossed-collateralized to maximize the return-of-equity proceeds to the borrower.
“The transaction was a challenge in that the return of equity — a fancy name for cash-out — was in excess of $10 million, more than one-third of the loan amount,” commented Michael D. Sneden, Executive Vice President of ValueXpress. “The CMBS market is skittish on cash-out transactions of this magnitude, so we doubled our efforts to convince all parties of the merits of the transaction, and we got it closed.”
The sponsor was integral to the success of the transaction. Underwriting and closing on six properties simultaneously is a tremendous undertaking, but the sponsor was well-organized and maintained a positive attitude through the process, even requesting daily status calls among the loan participants during the week before closing.