£9m investment deal for hotel development in place for Gatwick Airport travellers

OakNorth Bank has provided a £9m property development finance facility to UK hotel developer and manager Nine Group.

The finance will be used to convert the old Menzies Chequers Hotel in Horley, Surrey - which is currently not in use - into a new four-star Marriott-branded hotel with permission for 131 bedrooms.

The hotel, situated near Gatwick Airport, will also have its own restaurant, eight event rooms and 200 parking spaces.

Nine Group currently has 11 hotels under its portfolio, including the recently constructed Novotel Hotel at Heathrow Airport, the Holiday Inn at Watford Junction and the DoubleTree by Hilton in Reading.

Vivek Chadha, managing director and founder of Nine Group, said: “The Menzies Chequers Gatwick building has a long history dating back to the 1500s when it was a coaching inn during the Tudor period.

“It was serving travellers all that time ago, so we’re excited to be restoring it to its former glory and bringing the unique Nine Group approach to the design.”

The hotel is said to be the first in the area to target travellers from Gatwick.

Deepesh Thakrar, senior director in debt finance at OakNorth, added: “We have successfully completed a number of transactions in the hotel space - from small boutiques such as Bike & Boot, to modern city chains such as Z Hotels, and large operators such as Starboard Hotels.

“We look forward to watching the new hotel in Horley prosper and look forward to working with the team on future developments.”