Criterion secures £25m for Zedwell hotel expansion

Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital has secured a £25m investment facility from Cynergy Bank to expand its windowless hotel concept Zedwell. The group, which currently operates three hotels in central London with a total of 1,000 bedrooms, has ambitions to grow the chain to more than 8,000 bedrooms by 2027. Three new hotels are set to open shortly in Edinburgh, Manchester and York and with a total of 13 sites in development. In August, Criterion secured a three-year, £25m investment facility from the Bank of London and the Middle East for an office-to-hotel conversion in Trafalgar Square, WC2. It wants to convert the upper floors of the Trafalgar Buildings into a Zedwell hotel. Omar Aziz, director at Criterion Capital, said: “This £25m equity release is pivotal in accelerating the Zedwell brand’s UK-wide expansion. We are looking forward to turning prime sites in cities across the UK into vibrant and thriving hospitality assets.”