It has been reported that one of the biggest and richest property investors in Britain, Simon Halabi, is trying to refinance around £1.4 billion in debts, in order to avoid defaulting on a series of loans on nine London properties. The debt must be rapid by October.
Mr Halabi was once a director of real estate investment company, Property Trust, and became a major figure of the London property boom. The latest Sunday Times Rich List notes that he is worth £2 billion, down from £3 billion in 2007 before commercial property prices slumped by 40%, drastically reducing the value of his assets.
Rating agency Moody’s has expressed doubt over whether Mr Halabi will be able to repay the debts. Analyst Alexander Zeidler said: “It’s very likely the loan will default. We don’t think too many institutions will be willing to lend the amount of money needed to refinance.”
Banks are currently being inundated with requests to refinance commercial loans. It has been estimated that around £50 billion worth of property loans due between now and next year are having trouble finding willing lenders.
Leave a comment