JERUSALEM – Israeli-Canadian businessman Gil Blutrich recently purchased Toronto’s venerable King Edward Hotel for the bargain price of $48-million.
Blutrich’s Toronto-based Skyline International Development Inc., a subsidiary of the Tel Aviv-based Mishorim Developments Ltd., which he also controls, bought the 298-room century-old landmark – where Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono held their 1969 Give peace a chance bed-in and where Richard Burton proposed to Elizabeth Taylor – in a distress sale.
Lehman Bros., the New York investment bank that had bought the property for $62.5 million in 2006 and then spent an estimated $17 million in renovations, went bankrupt during the 2008 global financial meltdown.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
Judge sides with city on Tavern on the Green name
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that New York City owns the rights to the name of the landmark restaurant in Central Park, Tavern on the Green.
Closed since Jan. 1, the restaurant will be able to keep its famous name when it reopens. It is unclear, however, when the landmark eatery will once again welcome diners. Its new operator, Dean Poll, has not yet signed an agreement with the city or the union that represents the restaurant's 400 employees.
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Closed since Jan. 1, the restaurant will be able to keep its famous name when it reopens. It is unclear, however, when the landmark eatery will once again welcome diners. Its new operator, Dean Poll, has not yet signed an agreement with the city or the union that represents the restaurant's 400 employees.
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Fontainebleau Miami Said to Offer Restructuring Plan
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Fontainebleau Miami Beach owners Dubai World and Jeffrey Soffer, chief executive officer of Turnberry Ltd., offered the resort’s lenders a debt- restructuring plan that includes $100 million of new equity, according to three people with knowledge of the talks.
The Fontainebleau, which served as a backdrop for the “Scarface” and “Goldfinger” movies, borrowed more than $620 million to help fund renovations and hasn’t made loan payments since September, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Dubai World, half-owner of the resort, is leading negotiations with lenders, the people said.
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The Fontainebleau, which served as a backdrop for the “Scarface” and “Goldfinger” movies, borrowed more than $620 million to help fund renovations and hasn’t made loan payments since September, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Dubai World, half-owner of the resort, is leading negotiations with lenders, the people said.
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Hotel owners and operators have their banks over a barrel
FEW industries are as adept as hotels at providing tempting offers—a well-stocked minibar, for instance—that lead to regret the next day. Lenders to the industry are now firmly in the regret phase. Over the next year banks in Europe and America may be forced to write down billions in bad loans, further impairing already strained balance-sheets. In many cases they are also likely to become the proprietors of debt-ridden hotels.
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Armani Said to Delay Hotel in Dubai Tower by More Than a Month
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Giorgio Armani’s first hotel, due to open in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa today, will be delayed by more than a month, said two people with knowledge of the plan.
The luxury hotel, occupying 10 floors of the world’s tallest building, is now scheduled to open on April 22, said the people, who declined to be identified because there hasn’t been an official announcement.
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The luxury hotel, occupying 10 floors of the world’s tallest building, is now scheduled to open on April 22, said the people, who declined to be identified because there hasn’t been an official announcement.
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Accor sells five hotels
This week Accor has sold five hotels to Invesco Real Estate for a total of €154 million; this transaction will enable the company to reduce its adjusted net debt by €93 million over 2010. The 307 Novotel Muenchen City in Munich, Germany; the 149-room Novotel Roma la Rustica in Rome, Italy; and the 97-room Mercure Corso Trieste, also in Rome, were sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for a combined €57 million. The 175-room Mercure Zabatova in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is still under construction, was also sold under a sale and variable leaseback agreement for €17 million. And the 384-room Pullman Paris La Défense in Paris, France, was sold for €80 million. All of the hotels will still be operated by Accor.
Lodgian Receives Audit Report with Going Concern Explanation
ATLANTA, March 17, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Lodgian, Inc. (NYSE Amex Equities: LGN) today announced that the audit report of its independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 (the "Form 10-K"), while expressing an unqualified opinion regarding the company's audited financial statements, identified matters which raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. The company's announcement does not represent any changes or amendment to its 2009 financial statements or to its Form 10-K which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2010.
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