Horwood House Hotel set for a four-star makeover
06 December 2019
Country hotel, the DeVere Horwood Estate, is set to become a four-star boutique independent hotel following an acquisition and new injection of finance from Cynergy Bank.Ziz Properties Ltd, which is owned by highly experienced hotelier, Karim Kassam, purchased the 185 room Horwood House Hotel in Buckinghamshire from Starwood Capital. The hotel will be run by Kassam’s management company, ZIZ Hospitality Ltd. Kassam’s plans include refurbishing the rooms, increasing the number of suites and upgrading the restaurant, bar and reception area. The plans also include improvements to the pool and spa, and upgrades to the existing event spaces and the creation of a new additional wedding venue. The hotel will be repositioned as the Horwood House Hotel, taking it back to its historical origin.
Horwood House Hotel is set in 38 acres. It is a full-service hotel, with a 200-cover restaurant and 35 meeting and event rooms. With its distinctive russet bricks imported from the Netherlands, the mansion house was built in 1911 as a country residence for the Denny family. The house was the birthplace of Percy Thrower, his father was the estate’s head gardener, and the grounds included the manicured Pytheas Garden complete with its lily pond.
Cynergy Bank provided a £10m loan over five years to assist with the acquisition with a further £2.05m loan over 18 months to help fund the refurbishments.
Karim Kassam commented: “The whole process of financing went smoothly and quickly, and this deal allows Ziz Properties to transform what was a good country hotel – into a great one. I am so pleased Cynergy Bank shared my vision for what Horwood House could become – a leading country hotel destination in the UK.”
Ravi Sidhoo, Managing Director, Cynergy Bank Private & Business Banking added: “Karim’s plans for Horwood House are exceptional. His experience and vision is supporting the local economy beyond the hotel that are set to benefit from the refurbishment – not only in terms of contractors, but ongoing employment. At Cynergy Bank we pride ourselves on working with our clients to understand their business needs and aspirations. With our local, seasoned relationship managers, we quickly learn our client’s needs, we understand the market and, unlike mainstream lenders, can deliver certainty at speed.”
Ziz Properties Ltd was established to purchase hotels in the UK that have the potential to become great local destinations in their own right. Horwood House, with its historical past, was the ideal first project being established in the Buckinghamshire marketplace but offering so much more potential and trading up opportunity with further investment to make it the foremost hotel, wedding and events destination in the area. ZIZ Hospitality Ltd was established to manage the hotels.
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