Norwalk, CT, January 21, 2008 – GE Real Estate announced that it has provided a $49.75 million, five-year, on-book fixed-rate loan to Innisfree Hotels Inc. for the refinance of its Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front Hotel in Pensacola Beach, FL. This transaction caps a year in which GE provided more than $106 million in financing to Innisfree
"We’re obviously pleased that GE Real Estate continues to be a supportive lending partner,” said Julian MacQueen, chairman and chief executive officer of Innisfree Hotels Inc. “And the fact that we’ve successfully negotiated three deals with GE Real Estate this past year reflects well on their reputation for being able to close deals, especially during this turbulent time."
The Hilton was originally developed by Innisfree in 2003 as a 181-key Hilton Garden Inn. Innisfree recently completed a significant renovation and expansion, which added a 92-key, all suites tower, and re-branded the property as a state of the art, full service Hilton. The hotel is now considered one of the premier destination beachfront hotels in the Gulf of Mexico region.
"The success of the recent financings exemplifies the tremendous partnership between GE Real Estate and Grandbridge Real Estate Capital”, said Joel Traut, relationship manager at GE Real Estate. “Working closely with Grandbridge Real Estate Capital and Innisfree Hotels Inc. we were able to structure over $106 Million of on-book fixed-rate financing in 2007, enabling Innisfree to continue to grow their business platform for many years to come.”
This transaction exemplifies GE Real Estate’s emphasis on building long-lasting customer relationships. “We are pleased to continue to grow our relationship with Innisfree with this latest deal, and look forward to future deals with them,” observed Greg O’Stean, executive vice president and managing director hospitality, GE Real Estate. “We like the location of this asset, in a very strong tourist destination, and are confident in Innisfree’s ability to add value to this property."
Over the past year, GE Real Estate lent Innisfree $27 million to refinance two stabilized beachfront hotels in Orange Beach, Alabama, and $29 million to refinance a stabilized hotel in Pensacola Beach, Florida.
GE Real Estate’s North America Lending division offers financing for retail, industrial, self-storage, multifamily, office, student housing, regional malls and outlet centers. North America Lending is also a provider of financing solutions for niche asset classes including affordable housing, golf, hospitality, vacation ownership, manufactured home communities and RV resorts.
Financing on all transactions was arranged by John Mark Church of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital’s (a href="http://www.gbrecap.com/">www.gbrecap.com) Mobile, Alabama office
GE Contact:
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John Oliver
Office: 203/750-3089
Cell Phone: 203/984-7757
john.oliver@ge.com
For other inquiries please call 1-888-GE-First extension 333
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Richard Ringer
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Notes to editors:
About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is one of the world's premier commercial real estate companies with more than US$72 billion in assets and a presence in 31 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Backed by GE's AAA rating, GE Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of capital and investment solutions including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate. With a 28% compound annual growth rate since 1993, GE Real Estate is one of the world's fastest growing and most profitable real estate enterprises. This extraordinary record of success grows out of a reputation for collaboration and partnership; a depth of knowledge and experience and a history of building relationships, finding opportunities and opening doors for more than 5,000 owners, builders, borrowers and brokers worldwide.
GE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses around the globe an extensive array of financial products and services. With more than US$276 billion in assets and expertise in the middle-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
