Borgo Lifestyle Finance plc

Issuer Profile

Making the most of their backgrounds in property development and fashion design, Claus and Jeanette Thottrup, the faces behind the Borgo Lifestyle Group srl, embarked on renovating an 800-year-old villa in the heart of Tuscany into a luxurious five-star hotel development. The Borgo Santo Pietro, more commonly referred to as the Borgo Hotel, opened its doors in 2008 and was made up of 20 luxury suites and hotel facilities in addition to a holistic spa, cooking school and two restaurants, one of which is Michelin-starred. The property also boasts a 200-acre organic farm, vineyards and 13-acre gardens. 

Apart from the hotel, the Group’s core operations include the ownership, management and operation of the 136-foot wooden sailing yacht named Satori. The epitome of luxury, guest aboard the vessel enjoy Michelin-starred dining prepared by a personal chef from the Group’s restaurants Meo Modo and La Bottega del Buon Caffe, as well as onboard spa facilities and a series of concierge services managed by the Borgo Hotel.

Borgo Lifestyle Finance p.l.c. is a holding company and the finance arm of the Borgo Lifestyle Group srl. 

Issuer Need

The Group felt it necessary to carry our restructuring so as to be in a better position to meet the increase in demand. The requirement was to raise capital to provide an interest-bearing loan to Big Blue Cruising Ltd to finance the construction of the vessel Satori and another interest-bearing loan to Relais Borgo Santo Pietro srl to expand the Borgo Hotel. 
 

Solution

Calamatta Cuschieri was approached by Borgo Lifestyle Finance p.l.c. in order to establish the possible funding options that will aid the Group meet its objectives. The Prospects MTF market was the best solution for the size of funding required. The team was composed of Calamatta Cuschieri as the Corporate Advisor, Placement Agent and Managerm and Deloitte Malta as Financial Advisors. 

The €5,000,000 fully-subscribed secured bond issue was used to finance an upgrading project for the Borgo Hotel, while an amount of the proceeds was channeled to Big Blue Cruising Limited, which also forms part of the Group, registered and operated out of Malta, to refinance existing debt undertaken for the construction of the Satori yacht which it owns.