Bentley Residence Seoul Financing Hits Snag as Hanhwa Exits, GS Construction Declines

According to Edaily (September 3), the 480 billion KRW project financing for Bentley Residence Seoul, Asia's first Bentley-branded ultra-luxury residential complex in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong, faces significant hurdles. Hanhwa Investment Securities withdrew as financial advisor in June after failing internal investment review, while GS Construction, initially expected as the contractor, decided not to participate. Meritz Securities is now exploring involvement as successor lead arranger.

The project lists unit prices between 238-273 billion KRW per apartment, with penthouses priced at 500 billion KRW. Combined with modest debt-to-value ratios (LTV 56.1%), lenders remain cautious about actual sales feasibility at such ultra-premium price points, delaying the full project financing execution.