HSH Nordbank AG has structured the financing for the acquisition of a portfolio of 58 properties in the Netherlands on behalf of AXA Real Estate Investment Managers (AXA REIM), a real estate fund management company.
The value of the loan, fully underwritten by HSH Nordbank is €206 million and is divided into two tranches. One being a loan of €186 million secured by a first-ranking mortgage and the other being a junior loan of €20 million that represents a mezzanine tranche intended as partial financing for one of the institutional property funds advised by AXA REIM.
The high complexity of the transaction resulted from the fact, among others, that four different jurisdictions had to be taken into account. The loan agreement was signed under German law, and the collateral was provided pursuant to Dutch, English and Luxemburg law. "The increasing prevelance of cross-border real estate investments with large volumes is one of the principal reasons for the rising investor demand for complex structured financings," explains Claudio Lagemann, Global Head of Real Estate at HSH Nordbank.
"In this situation, it is essential for a bank to assist its commercial real estate customers beyond their own national boundaries, and to offer additional financing components on top of classic loan financing. For the customer, this means getting the entire financing as a one-stop option, and benefiting fully from the bank's real estate expertise."
The investing funds have used the loans to acquire 58 office properties with a GLA of 192,000 m² for an aggregate purchase price of €290 million. The portfolio is widely diversified and composed of real estate in 24 large and medium-sized regional centers. Locations include the cities of Rotterdam, Hoofddorp, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Zwolle, Amersfoort, and Gouda.
Commenting on the acquisition, Anthony Shayle, Head of UK, BENELUX & Scandinavia, AXA REIM, said, "This is the second time in 12 months where several AXA REIM advised funds have acted as a syndicate to access a substantial off-market portfolio with attractive pricing which would not otherwise be individually accessible to the funds. Advising on more than 80 investment mandates in Europe, AXA REIM has a strong in-house corporate finance team and a wide network of offices to structure and finance such syndicates for the benefit of its clients."
Claudio Lagemann further comments, "Since the high demand on the part of potential buyers is facing a limited supply of properties suitable for investment, we see a good chance for marketing the properties included in the portfolio that AXA REIM acquired, and for realising value appreciation."
For HSH Nordbank and its predecessors the Netherlands have belonged among its core markets since 1999. HSH Nordbank opened a representative office in the Netherlands in November 2003, and uses it to acquire real estate financings. The Dutch real estate loan portfolio of the bank currently amounts to €1 billion.
Source: HSH Nordbank
