Helaba provides €95 million acquisition financing for Tour Blanche office tower in Paris (FR)

Acting as arranger, sole lender and hedging provider, Helaba Paris finances the acquisition of Tour Blanche office Tower in La Défense business district for Plaza Global Real Estate Partners. Plaza, a joint venture between Quantum Global Real Estate and LaSalle Investment Management, acquired the office tower in October.
Tour Blanche comprises 25,783 m² of modern office space spread over 27 floors. It is home to the French headquarters of public electricity network ERDF, a 100% subsidiary of state owned EDF, under a long term lease since September.
Formerly known as “AIG-Chartis”, Tour Blanche had been among the initially erected buildings at the La Défense complex in Paris in 1967. Now, after being entirely redeveloped and modernized, Tour Blanche is the first refurbished office building with a strong energy and environmental performance. It has been awarded with the “HQE Renovation Exceptionnel” and “Effinergie BBC” certifications.
For Helaba, real estate lending is a core business with loan outstandings and commitments exceeding 33 billion as of 30 June 2014. The bank also ranks among the leading originators in Real Estate Lending in Germany, Europe and the U.S. with new business of more than €4 billion in the first half of 2014. In Paris, the bank is operating as a full branch since 2009 and has been growing rapidly by focusing on strong domestic and international institutional and private clients.
Source: Helaba