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A portfolio of 10 Hilton hotels owned by Vincent Tchenguiz has been put into administration by its lenders, the largest portfolio insolvency since the depths of the credit crunch, according to the Sunday Times.
AlixPartners has been appointed administrator to the portfolio, which had £510M of debt secured against it.
Tchenguiz had been seeking to sell the portfolio for around £600M, but offers came in at around the same level as the debt. Tchenguiz refused to sell, so two hedge funds that had bought the loans, Fortress and Hayfin, appointed administrators.
The appointment could pave the way for a quick sale. Monaco-based hotelier Bakir Cola has offered £260M for the flagship Kensington Hilton and property investor DVS has offered £250M for the other nine.
The Sunday Times reports Tchenguiz will sue Hilton for trying to wriggle out of its leases on the hotels, which run until 2029.
The largest property administration since the last downturn was also in the hotel sector. The Grosvenor House Hotel was put into administration in late 2016 after India owner Sahara failed to repay a £550M loan secured against the Mayfair hotel. The Reuben brothers bought the debt at a discount and then sold the hotel to Ashkenazy Acquisition for £550M.
The largest portfolio to be put into administration in U.K. history was the Gemini portfolio, previously owned by PropInvest. It had £910M of debt secured against it and in 2015 was sold for just £310M.
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