Resident secures £22m towards Edinburgh hotel

Resident Hotels has secured a £22m loan with NatWest for the development of its first Edinburgh property.

Owner Mactaggart Family & Partners announced last year that it was developing Meldrum House on Drumsheugh Gardens, converting the former HM Revenue & Customs office into a 166-bedroom Resident hotel.

The loan will enable Resident Hotels to complete the £50m hotel, facilitating the extension and refurbishment of the building’s original structure to include additional floors.

Renovation works are under way with an anticipated opening date of Q1 2024, taking the group’s portfolio to six hotels, including four in London and one in Liverpool.

Redeveloping the existing site will save approximately 40% of embodied carbon emissions within the building and around 697 tonnes of carbon dioxide when compared with a new build.

The team is also exploring the use of glass recycled from the original building, while preserving other materials from the existing structure to recycle and repurpose in future schemes.

William Laxton, UK chief executive at Mactaggart Family & Partners, said: “We are excited to bring the Resident brand to Edinburgh, a fantastic and bustling city that is the perfect location for our business model.

“This development represents a significant move for our business as we continue to implement our ambitions for modern luxury and sustainable builds as we grow Resident Hotels across the UK. We are extremely grateful for the faith NatWest has placed in the operating model and project, particularly at an uncertain time for the industry during Covid.”

Anthony Say, head of hotels, NatWest Corporate Banking: “It is fantastic to see the Resident debut in Edinburgh after what has been an extremely challenging time for the whole hospitality sector.

“We are delighted to be supporting this high-quality hotel operator and brand which will further enhance the rich hospitality offering within this iconic city, with a focus on environmental development as well as contributing towards regeneration of an historic area. We look forward to continuing to support the Resident’s ambitions in the future.”

Resident Hotels rebranded from Nadler Hotels in 2020 following the departure of Robert Nadler.