Resort and leisure hotel finance
We arrange commercial finance for operators, buyers, investors and developers acquiring, refinancing or building resort and leisure hotels. This is business lending against a trading hotel, not a personal mortgage.
Funding resort hotel
Resort and leisure hotels are destinations in their own right, drawing guests for the place rather than a passing stay. They pair rooms with spa, golf, dining, events and leisure amenity, often on a large site, and they trade on the experience. That breadth of income is a strength, but it comes with high operating leverage and pronounced seasonality, the two features that most shape how a lender underwrites a resort.
When we say resort hotel finance we mean the acquisition loan, term facility, development finance or refinance used to fund the resort as a trading business. Lenders read it through the going-concern EBITDARM across rooms and leisure, the seasonality of the trade, the operator behind it, and the durability of the destination's demand, sizing the loan on the trade rather than personal income.
Because resorts are large, amenity-rich and seasonal, lenders often lend at the more cautious end of leverage, and the capital stack can need more than senior debt alone. We frequently arrange operator equity and mezzanine alongside a senior term loan or development facility, structuring the funding so that the seasonal cash flow and the leisure capital expenditure are both accounted for.
We present the trade, the seasonality and the destination so hospitality-experienced lenders can price the risk, structure the equity and mezzanine where the stack needs it, and run the whole market as an arranger.
What we fund
- Destination resort hotels with spa and golf
- Country and coastal leisure hotels
- Resorts with significant events and conference trade
- Large amenity-rich leisure hotel sites
- Acquisition and refinance of established resort trade
- Development and major repositioning of resort assets
Indicative terms
- Acquisition or term LTVUp to around 65 to 70% of value
- Going-concern basisSized on maintainable EBITDARM
- DevelopmentAround 60 to 65% of cost, around 9 to 12% per annum
- Term15 to 25 years, from around 7 to 10% per annum
- Capital stackSenior debt with operator equity and mezzanine
- LeverageOften more cautious due to seasonality and leverage
- Key testsTrade, seasonality, operator, destination demand
Indicative only. Terms vary by lender, operator and home and are not an offer of finance.
How we fund resort and leisure hotels
We fund resorts on their going-concern trade, with close attention to seasonality and operating leverage. For an acquisition or term refinance we model the maintainable EBITDARM across rooms and leisure, stress it for the seasonal swing in cash flow and the high fixed cost base, and arrange a commercial mortgage or term loan to around 65 to 70% of value over 15 to 25 years at an indicative 7 to 10% per annum, often at the more cautious end of leverage given the volatility. Because resorts are large and amenity-rich, the senior facility frequently sits beneath mezzanine and operator equity in the stack, which we arrange alongside it. For development or major repositioning we arrange finance to around 60 to 65% of cost at an indicative 9 to 12% per annum, with a stabilised term exit once the resort trades through a full season. Every figure is indicative and never an offer; the terms depend on the trade, the seasonality and the operator.
Lender appetite for resort and leisure hotels
Resort and leisure hotels attract committed but selective appetite, because the seasonality and operating leverage are pronounced and the lot sizes are large. Specialist hospitality lenders fund stabilised resorts on going-concern EBITDARM, valuing a proven operator and a durable destination, while development funders back ground-up and major repositioning schemes, and mezzanine and equity providers complete the stack where senior debt stops short. Lenders weigh the seasonal cash flow, the leisure capital expenditure and the resilience of the destination's demand closely, and may lend at the more cautious end of leverage to reflect the volatility. As an arranger and introducer with no exclusive tie, we match the resort, its trade and its lot size to the lenders genuinely comfortable with leisure assets, and assemble the senior, mezzanine and equity layers into a coherent stack.
The resort and leisure hotel market and exit
Resorts sit in a deep but selective market. UK hotel investment reached £3.01bn year to date in 2025 per Savills, after a record £6.6bn in 2024 per Christie & Co, with a UK average price per room of around £142,000 per Cushman and Wakefield in H1 2025 and regional at around £129,000 per Knight Frank. Knight Frank and HotStats put regional RevPAR at around £98 on 82.8% occupancy in Q3 2025, the room demand a destination resort captures alongside its leisure trade. The watchpoint for a lender is that resorts carry higher operating leverage and seasonality than mainstream hotels, which sharpens the margin swing and narrows the buyer pool to specialist operators and investors. A well-run, established resort with a durable destination remains a saleable asset, and we structure both the entry and the exit with that selectivity in view.
Finance that suits this setting
- Hotel acquisition financeThe core route for buying a trading resort on its going-concern trade.
- Hotel development financeFunds ground-up and major repositioning of resort and leisure assets.
- Sale and leaseback and mezzanineFrees property capital or tops up the stack on large, amenity-rich resorts.
- Hotel refinanceRe-prices debt or releases equity once a resort trades through a full season.
- Hotel refurbishment financeFunds spa, golf and rooms works that reposition a resort.
Fund a resort hotel home
A view on fundability within one working day.
What drives a resort hotel's numbers
A resort or leisure hotel trades on the destination and a broad spread of income across rooms, spa, golf, dining and events, so its economics turn on how a large amenity-rich cost base converts that trade into margin through a seasonal year. Knight Frank and HotStats put regional RevPAR at around £98 on 82.8% occupancy in Q3 2025, the room demand a destination captures alongside its leisure trade. The decisive factors are the maintainable EBITDARM across rooms and leisure, the seasonality of the trade, the leisure capital expenditure the amenity demands, and the durability of the destination's demand. Because the cost base is high and largely fixed and the trade peaks and troughs, the margin swings sharply, so a resort is underwritten on the trough as much as the peak. We model the maintainable EBITDARM and stress the seasonal cash flow, because that is the realistic picture a lender funds.
Indicative resort hotel leverage and rates
Indicatively we arrange resort acquisition or term lending to around 65 to 70% of value, over 15 to 25 years, at around 7 to 10% per annum, sized on the going-concern EBITDARM and often at the more cautious end of leverage given the seasonality and operating leverage. Because resorts are large and amenity-rich, the senior facility frequently sits beneath mezzanine and operator equity, which we arrange alongside it, and sale and leaseback can free property capital. Development or major repositioning runs to around 60 to 65% of cost at an indicative 9 to 12% per annum, with a stabilised term exit once the resort trades through a full season. These are market-typical, indicative figures and never an offer; the terms depend on the trade, the seasonality, the destination and the lot size, and we run development, term and equity markets together.
Frequently asked questions
How do you finance a resort hotel acquisition?
We model the maintainable EBITDARM across rooms and leisure, stress it for seasonality and the high fixed cost base, and arrange a term loan to around 65 to 70% of value over 15 to 25 years at an indicative 7 to 10% per annum, often at the more cautious end of leverage given the volatility. Where senior debt stops short of a large lot size, we layer in mezzanine and operator equity. We present every figure as indicative, not an offer.
Why do lenders treat resort hotels more cautiously?
Resorts carry high operating leverage and pronounced seasonality: a large amenity-rich cost base and a trade that peaks and troughs through the year sharpen the margin swing. Lenders therefore underwrite the seasonal cash flow with care and may lend at the more cautious end of leverage, even where the destination is strong and the trade is established.
Can mezzanine or equity help fund a resort?
Yes, and on large, amenity-rich resorts it often does. Where senior debt stops short of the capital need, we arrange mezzanine and operator equity alongside the senior term loan or development facility to complete the stack, and sale and leaseback can free capital from the property where that suits the ownership and the trade supports the rent.
Can finance fund spa, golf or leisure works at a resort?
Yes. We arrange refurbishment finance for spa, golf and rooms works that reposition a resort, and development finance to around 60 to 65% of cost for larger schemes, with the exit onto a stabilised term loan once the resort trades through a full season and proves the uplift.
How does seasonality affect resort hotel finance?
Seasonality is central. A resort's trade peaks and troughs through the year, so lenders model the seasonal cash flow rather than a single strong period, and size debt service to be sustainable across the trough as well as the peak. We present the seasonal trade clearly so the facility is structured to hold through the low season.
Funding a resort hotel home?
Tell us about the home and the operator and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms.