Olympia secures £925 million senior refinancing for landmark new London destination
Olympia is pleased to announce that it has secured a new c. £925 million senior transitional financing package, which will replace the existing construction loan at a lower level of leverage and with a significantly lower cost, as the redevelopment centred around the historic exhibition halls enters its completion and stabilisation phase.
The new facility has a term of up to five years and was secured on attractive terms that underscore the lenders’ confidence in the strength of the Olympia proposition and offering, as well as the quality of its ownership and management. Deutsche Bank acted as sole arranger and lead underwriter for the debt with anchor syndicate participation from Citi.
Olympia is the iconic 140-year-old exhibition and events venue situated in West Kensington. Over the past five years the 14 acre site has been undergoing a significant redevelopment, which is transforming it into one of London’s largest and newest entertainment, culture, hospitality and business destinations. Economic analysis by Volterra shows that once mature, Olympia’s redevelopment will drive over £600 million of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy annually, up from £14 million previously, and attract over 10 million visitors annually across the destination as a whole.
Once complete the project will include over 350,000 sq ft of event space across five event and conferencing venues, including a new International Convention Centre collectively capable of hosting 300+ exhibitions and events annually.
It will also comprise 550,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art sustainable new offices, offering some of the largest rooftop terraces in London, and flexible, interactive workspaces, with IWG and Premier League Studios, the Premier League’s new international content production arm, already confirmed as occupiers.
Accommodation for visitors will be provided by two new hotels, a 146 room citizenM and a Hyatt Regency offering 204 rooms, which are due to open this summer.
The project also brings two new entertainment venues to London including the British Airways Theatre, a 1,575-seat theatre, which will be the largest new purpose-built theatre in London in almost 50 years (since the National Theatre) when it opens in 2027, to be operated by Trafalgar Entertainment and The Shubert Organization. In addition, a new 3,800-capacity live music venue, the British Airways ARC is due to open in June and will be operated by AEG Presents.
Further enhancing Olympia’s day and nighttime offering, the development is due to deliver 30 new restaurants, bars and eateries across 110,000 sq ft of space over the summer, comprising premium food and beverage concepts with operators including Incipio and D3 Collective.
A new Wetherby Pembridge co-educational senior school has already opened within the project. It is focused on academia, sports and the creative arts and is operated by the Inspired Education Group
The project to transform Olympia – one of the largest redevelopments of its kind in Europe – is backed by institutional investors and delivered by Yoo Capital and DFI, together with recently appointed investor representative, Hines.
Commenting on the transaction, Michael Volkert, CEO of Olympia, said:
“Olympia is a truly unique asset with more than a century of history at the heart of London’s cultural and events landscape. With this significant redevelopment nearing completion, this financing package provides long-term capital that will help us bring to life a hugely exciting, vibrant new commercial destination that contributes to London day and night, attracting millions of visitors each year.”
Evercore and JP Morgan acted as financial advisers to Olympia and its sponsors. Freshfields LLP served as counsel to the sponsors and Olympia, and Clifford Chance LLP advised Deutsche Bank and Citi.
For further information contact:
Hines
Louis Clark
+44 (0)7976 778 648
FTI Consulting, for DFI
Richard Sunderland / Andrew Davis / Bianca MacKenzie
+44 (0)20 3727 1000
Yoo Capital
Louise Page-Jennings
+44 (0)7539 096 459
About Olympia
Olympia is one of London’s most ambitious regeneration projects. With new venues launching from the second half of 2025 and throughout 2026 and 2027, the transformation will turn Olympia into a showcase for the remarkable and the extraordinary.
The transformed destination will include British Airways ARC, a new 3,800-capacity live music venue managed by AEG Presents; the British Airways Theatre, London’s largest purpose-built theatre in almost 50 years, managed by Trafalgar Entertainment and The Shubert Organization; two hotels operated by citizenM Hotels and Hyatt Regency; a host of new places to eat and drink; Wetherby Pembridge, a new co-educational senior school which opened its doors in September 2025; a boutique gym by 1Rebel, 550,000 sq ft of offices boasting some of the largest terraces in London, as well as new public spaces for visitors to enjoy. Olympia’s historic event halls, its new International Convention Centre and its new premium lounge, The Addison, will be operated by Olympia Events.
Olympia is being developed by Yoo Capital and DFI and co-designed by Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC. The transformed destination will be operated by Olympia Estates.
Stay tuned for future announcements at www.olympia.co.uk
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About DFI
DFI is a pan-European private equity real estate firm with offices in London, Munich, Madrid, and Luxembourg. It manages over €4 billion of assets under management and focuses on building thematic customer-centric platforms and executing special situations. The firm acts as the investment adviser to its discretionary funds, co-investment vehicles and separate accounts serving a global institutional client base that includes sovereign wealth and pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions and family offices.
For additional information see https://www.dfi-rep.com/
About Yoo Capital
Yoo Capital is a privately held real estate firm that has invested over £3.0 billion into Central London since its formation in 2010 by Co-Founders, John Hitchcox and Lloyd Lee, the international property entrepreneur and private equity veteran duo behind some of London’s most iconic transformations. By combining transformational creativity with institutional investment discipline, the firm specialises in transformational investments that are both fiscally responsible and socially responsible. In addition to the traditional asset classes of office, residential and retail, the firm has made its name through its significant experience in the strategic sectors of hospitality, creative industries and live entertainment as well as life sciences and healthcare. The firm is comprised of extremely senior professionals with a firmwide average 21 years’ experience in private equity, complex asset and development management and institutional fund management that comprises in excess of £15bn of transactional experience.
Additional information can be found at www.yoocapital.com
About Hines
Hines is a leading global real estate investment manager. We own and operate $91.7 billion1 of assets across property types and on behalf of a diverse group of institutional and private wealth clients. Every day, our 4,600 employees in 30 countries draw on our 69-year history to build the world forward by investing in, developing, and managing some of the world’s best real estate. To learn more, visit www.hines.com and follow @Hines on social media.
¹Includes both the global Hines organization and RIA AUM as of December 31, 2025.
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