Bankruptcy settlement would mean new owners for Embassy Suites in Loveland

LOVELAND — A proposed settlement of a long-simmering bankruptcy and multistate legal battle would mean new ownership for Northern Colorado’s largest hotel and conference center, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in Loveland.

JD Holdings LLC, a New York investment firm headed by Jonathan Eilian, intends to purchase 35 hotels and other assets held by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, based in Springfield, Mo. The sale would include the 263-room Embassy Suites at 4705 Clydesdale Parkway.

Dozens of entities connected with John Q. Hammons filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kansas City, Kan., in June 2016, and have been engaged in multiple legal battles with Eilian entities.

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Attorneys for JD Holdings and John Q. Hammons did not respond to requests for comment.

John Q. Hammons in 2005 took the publicly traded company private, in part with $300 million provided by Eilian entities. The agreement provided that the company was required to sell most of the properties by one of two deadlines, including one deadline that would be two years after Hammons death. John Q. Hammons died May 26, 2013, at the age of 94.

The John Q. Hammons company fought the requirement on numerous fronts, but it was upheld by a court in Delaware. A  settlement filed with the Kansas City, Kan., bankruptcy court Feb. 13 was approved by bankruptcy-court judge Robert Berger, March 6, but some creditors are appealing the decision.

Under terms of the agreement, JD Holdings agreed to acquire the John Q. Hammons assets in 16 states. Atrium Hospitality LP, a JD Holdings affiliate based in Alpharetta, Ga., will manage the properties.

“We are glad to have reached a settlement with the trustees of the John Q. Hammons Trust,” Eilian said in a prepared statement. “With our disputes behind us, we look forward to combining the management of Atrium’s existing portfolio with the hotel properties held by the Trust, all of which were developed by Mr. Hammons over the course of his visionary and distinguished career in the hotel industry.”

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The Embassy Suites is located on The Ranch Events Complex, owned by Larimer County. John Q. Hammons signed a 55-year land lease with Larimer County in 2006. Chris Ashby, who took over as director of The Ranch in January, said the county had no objection to the settlement agreement.

“We anticipate the lease continuing as is for the foreseeable term of the lease,” Ashby said, noting that the bankruptcy has not seemed to affect operations of the hotel.

“Honestly, it’s been business as usual,” he said. “That’s a very well-performing hotel.”

Atrium recently completed an $11 million renovation of the Hilton Fort Collins, a 255-room hotel at 425 W. Prospect Road, formerly owned by John Q. Hammons. The renovation included all rooms, the conference center, lobby, fitness center, coffee shop, pool and bar.

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