Former Thyrocare promoter A Velumani's entity extends Rs 420 crore debt facility to Appu Hotels

Mumbai: An entity owned by Thyrocare's former promoter A Velumani has provided ₹420-crore debt facility to Appu Hotels, which operates the five-star properties Hotel Le Royal Meridien in Chennai and Le Meridien in Coimbatore, said people aware of the development.

Velumani, who had sold his stake in Thyrocare in 2021, provided the loan to Appu Hotels for a term of two years at a coupon of 17%, the people cited earlier told ET. The loan was given by iHeart Properties, a company owned by Velumani.

Appu Hotels' promoter Palani Periaswamy raised the ₹420-crore debt to regain control of the five-star properties from lenders under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.


The loan will be used to settle ₹340-crore worth of claims of secured creditors and ₹49-crore worth of claims of unsecured creditors of Appu Hotels, which is undergoing a corporate resolution process.

On December 21, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved a ₹595-crore settlement plan given by Periaswamy since all lenders to Appu Hotels had unanimously approved it. It rejected a ₹423-crore resolution plan of MK Rajagopal, the founder of MGM Healthcare.

Periaswamy, the winning bidder, settled the loan with the lenders within two days of NCLT pronouncing the order, one of the lenders told ET.