Key points
- GRAND said severe liquidity difficulties resulted in the company defaulting on rent and lease payments involving a group of co-owners who collectively control 75% of the land on which The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel is located.
- Under the relevant land lease agreement, the company is required to demolish the building, return the land in good condition and remove its assets and personnel from the Westin premises.
- A second group of co-owners controls the remaining 25% of the land on which the hotel is located, and the dispute involving that portion remains unresolved.
Grande Asset Hotels and Properties is facing another major setback involving its Bangkok hotel portfolio, coming shortly after Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Public Company Limited (ROH), which is part of the Grande Asset group, lost the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. Now attention has shifted to The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, where Grande Asset is trying to sell hotel-related assets for up to 494.60 million baht as severe liquidity problems, unpaid land rent, mounting debts and disputes involving the land beneath the property place further pressure on the group.
Image Credit: Thailand Hotel News
The proposed sale represents much more than an ordinary disposal of hotel assets. Grande Asset Hotels and Properties Public Company Limited (GRAND) has been struggling with continuing losses and negative operating cash flow while trying to restructure its finances and generate urgently needed cash. In the midst of these mounting pressures, this Thailand Hotel News report looks at how the company’s financial difficulties have spilled over into one of Bangkok’s most recognizable Sukhumvit hotel properties.
Grande Asset Moves to Sell Westin Assets
GRAND informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that its Board of Directors, at meeting No. 8/2026 held on September 22, 2026, resolved to seek shareholder approval for the sale of assets used in the operation of The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel.
The proposed buyer is Rabbit Holdings Public Company Limited (RABBIT), or a company designated by RABBIT, with the transaction carrying a maximum total value of 494.60 million baht.
The assets proposed for disposal include those connected with hotel operations as well as space leasing, retail businesses and other ancillary activities conducted at the property. Related licenses would also form part of the proposed transaction.
The deal is classified as a related-party transaction because RABBIT is part of BTS Group Holdings Public Company Limited, which is a major shareholder of GRAND.
As a result, the transaction cannot simply be completed by management and requires approval from shareholders.
GRAND’s board has appointed Capital Advantage Co., Ltd. as an independent financial advisor to prepare an opinion on the proposed transaction for shareholders.
Liquidity Crisis Hits Westin Sukhumvit
Behind the proposed 494.60-million-baht sale is a much deeper financial problem.
GRAND said severe liquidity difficulties resulted in the company defaulting on rent and lease payments involving a group of co-owners who collectively control 75% of the land on which The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel is located.
The defaults led those landowners to exercise their right to terminate the lease agreement.
The consequences are potentially severe for GRAND. Under the relevant land lease agreement, the company is required to demolish the building, return the land in good condition and remove its assets and personnel from the Westin premises.
The company is also dealing with an unresolved legal dispute involving another portion of the site.
A second group of co-owners controls the remaining 25% of the land on which the hotel is located, and the dispute involving that portion remains unresolved.
GRAND has acknowledged that the land problems are directly affecting the Westin’s business operations.
Information accompanying the transaction also indicates that the company faces requirements to vacate its assets and demolish structures within 120 days of the relevant lease termination.
Losses Have Been Mounting for Years
GRAND’s difficulties surrounding the Westin are unfolding against a backdrop of sustained financial losses.
The company reported a net loss of 697.84 million baht in 2023, accompanied by negative cash flow from operating activities of 416.01 million baht.
Financial pressure continued in 2024, when the company’s loss reached 729.56 million baht while negative operating cash flow increased to approximately 1.09 billion baht.
The financial situation deteriorated substantially in 2025. GRAND reported a net loss of approximately 1.58 billion baht together with negative operating cash flow of 364.36 million baht.
The problems continued into 2026.
For the first quarter of the year, GRAND reported a net loss of 177.28 million baht and negative net cash flow from operating activities of 28.69 million baht. Its operating result was also negative at 6.14 million baht.
GRAND has attributed its liquidity difficulties partly to the economic slowdown and conflicts in different parts of the world, which it said affected international tourist numbers and caused business performance to fall short of expectations.
The sluggish domestic real estate market has added further pressure by delaying revenue recognition from condominium projects within the group.
Billions of Baht in Debt Add to Pressure
GRAND’s outstanding financial obligations make its need to generate cash increasingly urgent.
As of March 31, 2026, the company had approximately 593 million baht in debenture obligations that had matured or for which it had requested payment deferrals.
That amount consisted of approximately 540 million baht in principal and 53 million baht in interest.
More significantly, GRAND reported approximately 8.57 billion baht in outstanding debts that had not yet matured.
The company said it urgently needs to secure additional cash flow to improve liquidity, repay loans and debentures, address principal and interest payments for which deferrals have been requested, settle obligations to other creditors and provide working capital.
GRAND is consequently restructuring its finances, attempting to secure new funding and accelerating the disposal of assets and investments.
The company has nevertheless acknowledged that these disposals have to be carried out gradually and can take time, making it difficult to establish a definite timetable for generating the required cash.
Westin Sale Is Far from Straightforward
Even with a potential buyer identified, completing the Westin transaction could be complicated.
The proposed sale is subject to important conditions connected with the land beneath the hotel. Information provided in relation to the transaction refers to conditions involving the acquisition of the remaining 25% land interest and the registration of a land lease under specified terms.
The maximum 494.60-million-baht transaction value also covers considerably more than the movable assets inside the hotel.
The figure includes the asset value, outstanding rent and rental payments and associated expenses.
The movable assets themselves have a stated book value of approximately 32.47 million baht and an appraised value of approximately 34.11 million baht.
If the proposed transaction cannot be completed, the consequences for GRAND could become considerably more serious.
The company has indicated that it may have to cease operating the hotel and rental spaces while continuing to carry outstanding rent obligations and demolition expenses.
Grande Asset Also Cuts Back on ROH Investment
The group’s financial pressures are also influencing its investment decisions elsewhere.
GRAND’s board resolved to waive its entitlement to subscribe for additional ordinary shares being issued by Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) Public Company Limited.
GRAND is entitled to subscribe for up to 271.6 million shares from a maximum 280 million shares that ROH plans to allocate to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings.
The shares have a par value of 1 baht and a subscription price of 0.60 baht each.
Exercising GRAND’s full entitlement would therefore require approximately 162.96 million baht.
If ROH allocates all the newly issued shares and GRAND does not exercise its subscription rights, GRAND’s stake in ROH would decline from 97% to approximately 74.71% of ROH’s paid-up capital.
GRAND has also indicated that it could waive only the number of subscription rights required to allow ROH to satisfy Stock Exchange of Thailand free-float requirements.
Any such decision would take into account GRAND’s financial position, liquidity and investment capacity at the relevant time.
Shareholders Now Hold the Key
GRAND has scheduled its Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders No. 2/2026 for November 10, 2026, at 10 a.m. The meeting will be conducted electronically.
The record date for determining shareholders entitled to attend has been set for October 9, 2026.
A central item on the agenda will be consideration and approval of the proposed disposal of assets used in the operation of The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel.
The proposed transaction comes at an increasingly difficult point for Grande Asset. The company is confronting continuing losses, negative operating cash flow, billions of baht in outstanding debt, land disputes and lease-payment problems while simultaneously attempting to raise cash through asset and investment disposals.
Many industry insiders say that they the sale is unlike to go through and that most banks, financial institutions and even investment groups are staying away as far as possible from the Grande Assets and Hotels Group because of the perceived view of their track records and the way they conduct business in the last few years.
What happens to The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel will therefore be closely watched. The proposed 494.60-million-baht disposal has become part of a much larger struggle by Grande Asset to stabilize its liquidity, meet creditor obligations and restructure its finances while problems surrounding some of its important hotel interests continue to mount.
Read Also:
