The operator behind Macau’s luxury The 13 hotel has reportedly announced that it has been served with a statutory demand for the immediate repayment of an outstanding debt believed to be worth in the region of $422.8 million.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the order for Hong Kong-listed South Shore Holdings Limited comes only two weeks after the firm suspended the trading of its shares and revealed that it expects to record a deficit for the twelve months to the end of March of about $122.3 million. The source detailed that the company is now facing the real possibility of being wound up if it cannot fully repay disgruntled backer Wise Park Business Limited.

Admirable project:

South Shore Holdings Limited was previously known as Louis XIII Holdings Limited until undergoing a 2016 name-change and reportedly premiered the 200-room The 13 some 34 months ago as ‘the most luxurious hotel in the world’. However, the $1.6 billion facility located on the border between Macau’s Coloane and Cotai Strip districts has continuously struggled to turn a profit after being denied permission to bring a VIP casino to its lower floors.

Divestiture flop:

Facing up to its financial exposure and South Shore Holdings Limited reportedly last year attempted find a buyer for The 13 but was forced to terminate negotiations with a trio of potential suitors in September after having extended the deadline for talks three times. The company had purportedly hoped that these discussions would have allowed it to cut expenditures and recoup some $96.7 million by offloading at least a 50% stake in the failing hotel.

Costly call:

South Shore Holdings Limited has now reportedly been asked to immediately repay a loan worth almost $366.1 million that Wise Park Business Limited took over from a previous lender in 2018. The creditor purportedly disclosed that it is moreover seeking about $10.1 million in accrued interest, approximately $44.1 million in default penalties and almost $3.6 million in management fees alongside around $734,800 in handling charges.

Earlier cancellation:

The move from Hong Kong-headquartered Wise Park Business Limited reportedly comes a month after the same firm terminated the renewal of a bridging loan to South Shore Holdings Limited and demanded full repayment of a balance said to be worth somewhere near $76.4 million. The backer simultaneously exercised its rights under the original lending agreement to purportedly take over the running of the borrower’s The 13 (BVI) Limited subsidiary before agreeing to offload the engineering enterprise to a third party in an arrangement worth some $19.3 million.

Reportedly read a statement from South Shore Holdings Limited…

“If the company fails to repay the debt within three weeks from the date of service of the statutory demand, the creditor may present a winding up petition against the company. The company is considering taking legal advice in this regard and, as the board has only recently received the statutory demand, it will take some time to assess the situation.”