Intesa Sanpaolo Hotel Portfolio: Custom Exit Orchestrated by Polymath & Boffin


16 September 2025

Transaction Snapshot

Banca Intesa Sanpaolo asked Polymath & Boffin (P&B) to unlock a portfolio of six Italian hotels whose capital stack had become highly entangled:

  • Florence: two Hilton-branded properties

  • Naples: Holiday Inn

  • Mestre (Venice): Hilton

  • Assisi: Gran Hotel dei Congressi

  • Sardinia: Grande Baia Resort

Each asset carried multiple loans from several banks, with Intesa acting as pool leader. Security interests differed not only by lender but also by specific portions of land, buildings and operating companies, making any unilateral workout impracticable.

 

Our Mandate

P&B was tasked to:

  • Achieve a fully consensual exit acceptable to every lender in the pool.

  • Secure borrower relief by introducing fresh capital that would clear existing balances.

  • Lay a foundation for long-term stability ahead of a negotiated restructuring.

 

 

Solution Architecture

Working over an eight-month timetable, we coordinated borrowers and all lending institutions to reach a single closing framework. Key elements were:

  • Portfolio-wide agreement. Every bank in the capital stack consented to terms under which its outstanding exposure would be paid in full at completion.

  • New equity injection. External capital flowed directly to the borrowers, enabling them to settle their debts before the planned restructuring took effect.

  • REIT-type vehicle. Title to each hotel was contributed to a newly formed, real-estate-investment-trust structure. In exchange, the original borrowers received units in the REIT, with distributions calibrated to their individual performance metrics.

 

Outcome & Benefits

  • Clean debt exit. Legacy loans were discharged simultaneously, eliminating the web of overlapping securities that had hampered operational and strategic decisions. 

  • Aligned incentives. Borrowers now participate in the upside of the consolidated REIT, earning differentiated returns that reflect how effectively each asset performs. 

  • Institutional-grade platform. The portfolio is positioned under a single, transparent ownership vehicle, enhancing governance and simplifying any future capital-raising or divestiture. 

 

Why It Matters for Investors

  • Transparency. A single REIT structure replaces fragmented collateral arrangements, giving investors clear visibility into asset ownership and cash-flow allocation. 

  • Stability. With the prior debt burden removed and fresh capital deployed, the hotels have breathing room to focus on operations and potential value-add initiatives. 

  • Scalability. The transaction provides a replicable template for resolving other multi-lender hospitality portfolios across Europe.

 

 

By guiding all stakeholders to a unified solution, Polymath & Boffin demonstrated its ability to navigate intricate credit pools and design capital structures that preserve value for lenders while opening new avenues of growth for asset owners.


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