CHICAGO — Chicago-based Aries Conlon Capital has arranged a $62.4 million non-recourse loan for the refinancing of a seven-hotel portfolio in seven states. The portfolio, owned by Inner Circle Investments, includes six Radisson hotels, which are located in Cromwell, Conn.; Billings, Mont.; Highpoint, N.C.; Albany, N.Y.; Appleton, Wis.; and Cheyenne, Wyo; as well as one independent, boutique hotel in St. Louis. Rushi Shah of Aries Conlon arranged the interest-only loan with an international investment bank. Instead of refinancing its assets as fee-simple properties, Inner Circle split ownership of the land parcels and the hotels into leased-fee and leasehold entities respectively, entered into 99-year leases with its hotels as tenants and then refinanced the land/leased-fee portions at a higher loan-to-value ratio and more attractive terms. Aries Conlon is now refinancing the corresponding leaseholds to effectively close the loop.
