JMK Group to develop new London hotel with £16.6m loan

Family-run hospitality company JMK Group has revealed plans to convert a former London office building into a hotel after securing a £16.6m loan.

The co-loan from OakNorth and REL Finance will be used to transform a five-storey, Grade II-listed office block along St Clement Lane in the City of London into a 185-room hotel, subject to planning permission.

JMK Group was founded in 2009 by John Kajani through the establishment of a small boutique hotel in London’s Kensington.

It has since grown its portfolio to seven properties across the UK and Ireland, including the Hampton by Hilton London Ealing and the Seraphine Hammersmith hotel.

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.”

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