Surinder Arora's group gets £50m loan from OakNorth Bank to 'take advantage of opportunities' during Covid-19

ARORA GROUP, founded by British-Indian businessman Surinder Arora, has received £50m loan from the OakNorth Bank to 'take advantage of opportunities' arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Founded in 1999, the group consists of Arora Hotels, Grove Developments and Arora Property. It has a portfolio of 30 properties across the UK, including the InterContinental at The O2, Fairmont Windsor Park, and more than a dozen hotels across Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports along with residential and commercial office units.

“Covid-19 has inevitably presented numerous challenges for our sector, but as we found during the 2008 financial crisis, unique opportunities arise in times of economic turmoil," said Arora.

"This loan from OakNorth Bank provides us with the liquidity to take advantage of these opportunities and focus on playing for the upside, when many others will be distracted trying to protect the downside.”

Steve Pateman, vice chairman of Arora group’s advisory board, said: “OakNorth is a bank that’s doing things differently and challenging the status quo. I was impressed by the speed and transparency that the team operates, as well as their commercial acumen.”

“The 20-year track record of the group speaks for itself and despite the challenges Covid-19 is presenting to the sector, Arora Group is still being able to identify interesting opportunities to grow its portfolio," said Ben Barbanel, head of debt finance and Mohith Sondhi, senior debt finance director at OakNorth Bank.

"We’re glad to have been able to support the Group and look forward to continuing to build on the relationship.”

OakNorth Bank provides debt finance (from £500k to £50m) to fast-growth businesses and established property developers and investors, with presence in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and East Anglia.