It is reported that US private equity business Blackstone has agreed a £536 million refinancing of Coroin Ltd, the company that owns three luxury hotels (London’s Claridge’s, the Berkeley and the Connaught), at the centre of a legal battle between property developer Patrick McKillen and billionaire Barclay brothers David and Frederick. Mr. McKillen, a 36.2% shareholder in Coroin Ltd., the company behind the three hotels, unsuccessfully sued the Barclay brothers alleging that they had improperly taken control of Coroin Ltd. when they acquired £660 million of the company’s debt in late 2011.

It is reported that TPG Capital, the private equity firm run by Ryanair chairman David Bonderman, has started buying up debt held by Treasury Holdings, the insolvent Irish property developer (which was once one of Ireland’s largest property developers), with a view to potentially gaining control of some of the firm’s assets.. The U.S. firm has reportedly been acquiring debt linked to the €375 million Opera CMH portfolio, which includes a string of Irish assets, such as the Stillorgan shopping centre and Bank of Ireland’s headquarters on Mespil Road.

It is reported that the British lender Lloyds has taken a 90% hit on the sale of its €1.8 billion Irish loan portfolio. The portfolio was reportedly purchased by Risali Ltd, a company linked to Apollo Global Management which specialises in buying such assets, for €149 million. It is reported that Lloyds has taken €14 billion of impairment charges on its Irish loans since the collapse of the property market.

It is reported that the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) may take control of Puma Hotels if the UK-based hotel operator is unable to repay its €372 million debts. Puma owns 21 hotels including the Lygon Arms, Billesley Manor and Blackpool’s Imperial Hotel in the UK, the article said.