Saturday, December 19, 2009

Syndicated Equities Corp teams with Schrager on Chicago deal

(Crain’s) — A local group has agreed to be the lead investor in Ian Schrager’s bid to buy the Ambassador East hotel.

Syndicated Equities Corp. has signed a letter of intent to potentially put upward of $15 million of equity into the famed hotelier’s bid to revitalize the legendary Gold Coast hotel at 1301 N. State Pkwy., says Richard Kaplan, president and founder of the Chicago-based real estate investment firm.

Mr. Kaplan says his firm’s due diligence will be wrapped up in about a month and that the sale to New York-based Schrager Co. could close as early as February.

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Strategic Hotels sells hotel property for $51.5M

Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. said Wednesday it is selling the Renaissance Paris Hotel Le Parc Trocadero to an investment group led by an affiliate of Westmont Hospitality for 35.5 million euros ($51.5 million).

The sale of the 116-room property is scheduled to close within 45 days, the company said.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust that owns and provides asset management of high-end hotels and resorts in the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Shares of the company rose 3 cents to $1.79 in afternoon trading.

Kahala Hotel faces class-action claim on tips

Thousands of customers of the Kahala Hotel & Resort are now part of a lawsuit alleging that the hotel's tipping policy was deceptive.

Circuit Judge Gary Chang yesterday granted class-action status to a 2008 suit by local resident Jason Kawakami, who said the hotel charged him more than $4,800 in service fees but did not disclose that only portions of the fee would go to hotel employees.

The ruling increases the potential damages that the hotel would have to pay if it loses the suit. According to Kawakami's attorneys John Perkin and Brandee Faria, more than 4,300 customers have been billed for the service fees by the hotel.

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Marriott's Edition boutique-hotel venture with Ian Schrager: When can we check in?

While speaking with Marriott International President Arne Sorenson about hotel growth in Mexico at Marriott's headquarters yesterday, I had a few spare moments with him. So besides asking him about the hotel business in general, I asked him what's happening with Edition - the luxury, boutique-style hotel chain that Marriott planned to develop with the bold, boutique-hotel pioneer Ian Schrager.

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San Francisco Four Seasons close to foreclosure

The Four Seasons San Francisco is heading closer to foreclosure after lenders rejected owner Millennium Partners’ proposal to renegotiate the loan on the property, according to the credit-rating agency Realpoint.

In June, Millennium Partners “strategically withheld payment of debt service” on the $90 million loan in an effort to force the servicer on the loan, LNR Property Corp., to enter into negotiations. In October, Millennium “submitted a proposal that the servicer deemed to be unacceptable,” according to Realpoint

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Chicago's Hotel 71 Sale Upends Condo-Hybrid Model

A Chicago hotel that was part of developer Robert Falor's ill-fated effort to build a condo-hotel empire has sold for a fraction of its debt.

A fund managed by Canyon Capital Realty Advisors of Los Angeles bought the 437-room Hotel 71 for $37 million. The all-cash deal wiped out tens of millions of dollars in debt, according to people familiar with the transaction.

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Punch Taverns shares tumble on gloomy outlook

Shares in Punch Taverns, Britain's biggest pub company, fell 3 per cent today after it said that profits had continued to fall at the same rate as last year.

The group, whose weak performance and huge debt pile has forced it to sell off hundreds of pubs, said that profits "remained under pressure" with like-for-like income on its leased estate for the first 16 weeks of its financal year falling at a similar rate to last year — when they dropped 11 per cent.

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Developer apologizes for failure of $1 billion Sarasota project

SARASOTA -- The developer of the Proscenium real estate tower has apologized to downtown Sarasota land owners stung financially when the 18-story project failed.

Developer Zeb Portanova stopped short, however, of taking responsibility for the $1 billion Proscenium's collapse.

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Denny's shakes up top management as sales slump

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) -- Denny's Corp. on Friday unveiled a top management shake-up as sales growth remains sluggish at the casual dining restaurant chain.

Out are Mark Chmiel, chief marketing and innovation officer, and Janis Emplit, chief operating officer. Their duties will be split among the marketing and operations teams while Denny's is searching for their replacements.

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