Hotel group Signature Living secures £2m funding and reveals new boost for local firms

Signature Hotel in Liverpool has secured £2m in funding from peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Assetz Capital.

Signature Living, the company behind the 115-guest capacity hotel, signed the deal to refinance the business from a bridging lender.

The Stanley Street property, built in 1884 and serving as a print works until 1965, underwent a £5m restoration in 2012 to become Signature Hotel.

The building has links with electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, which opened a recording studio there in the early 1980s.

David Marsh, managing director at Signature Living, said: “Over the years we have developed a unique funding model that has helped us to become one of the fastest growing hoteliers in the UK market.

“We’ve had previous experience with crowdfunding, but by dealing with P2P we could remove investors and come up with a long-term finance solution that would allow us to utilise cash in other areas of the business.”

He added: “By partnering with Assetz Capital we have been able to continue with what we do best – bringing genuine experiences for our guests across our portfolio of hotels and apartments. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Assetz Capital and will be collaborating on more ventures across the country.”

Mark Roberts, relationship director at Assetz Capital, commented: “Signature Living has an established and reputable brand in Liverpool City Centre and we look forward to working with them and the broker to support Signature further over the next few years as the brand grows.

“Signature, like Assetz, have very ambitious growth targets and I am sure that his can be the first of many transactions we complete together in the coming years.”

Family-owned Signature Living is now the largest hotel operator in Liverpool. Its portfolio includes The Shankly Hotel, 30 James Street and The Arthouse.

The group has £300m worth of hotel, leisure and development projects in the pipeline for the next three years, including the Dixie Dean Hotel in Liverpool and sites in Cardiff and Northern Ireland.

In other news, Signature Living on Thursday (March 8) confirmed plans to create a micro business economy in Liverpool that will offer contracts to Merseyside firms worth upto £100m.

The group will give priority on supplier contracts to members of Signature Works, its co-working and flexible office rental space at the Bling Bling building on Hanover Street.

Roger Jonas, head of stakeholder relations at Signature Living, said: “This is an incredible ground-floor opportunity for our Signature Works business members to engage with us and become part of our group supply chain.

“It is vital that we support local Liverpool businesses and maintain our thriving regional economy and ensure we create opportunities for local businesses and those who are part of our Signature Works co worker and flexible office space hub.”

He continued: “A budding entrepreneur or business owner can become a Signature Works member by taking office space and have immediate access to a simple streamlined procurement process and win business contracts to supply Signature Living with their products and services.

“Many of the local businesses and tradespeople who have worked on Signature Living property and hotel projects have been with us for many years and grown as thriving businesses in their own right employing staff and taking on more contracts.”