Pricoa Mortgage Capital has provided €55.5 million of a total €70.5 million financing package in the Netherlands, its third commercial real estate loan since launching its European business in 2012 and its first in continental Europe. Pricoa, among the largest commercial mortgage lenders in the United States, is the commercial mortgage lending business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), which is headquartered in the US.
The loan is secured by a portfolio of six logistics properties spread throughout the Netherlands owned by W.P. Carey, Inc., a US-based publically traded REIT (NYSE:WPC). The properties are leased to C1000, a national supermarket chain recently acquired by Jumbo to form the second-largest grocer in the Netherlands. Pricoa is refinancing a majority of the existing senior loan, and the incumbent lender, ING Real Estate Finance, will continue to provide €15 million in subordinate financing.
The seven-year financing helps move the company a step closer to its 2013 goal of providing €600 million (approx. £500 million) of long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe, with the ability to do significantly more than this. The European program offers similar loan structures to those it offers in the US, and as in the US, Pricoa has the ability to fund individual transactions of significant size. All European debt will be denominated in local currency and secured by income-producing real estate.
Pricoa is primarily focused on office, logistics, multifamily, and retail properties in and around large population centers such as London, the major cities in Germany, Paris, and the Netherlands. Pricoa also seeks opportunities to finance transactions in collaboration with local banks, especially on the European continent.
“Many commercial property owners across Europe are looking to broaden their sources of capital as dislocation in the real estate finance market continues,” said Thor Orndahl, a managing director who oversees Pricoa’s non-U.S. mortgage platforms. “Logistics is a preferred asset type of ours globally, and gaining exposure to Dutch and German distribution remains an important strategic objective.”
Drew Abernethy, Head of European originations, said “Pricoa is very happy to have closed this first loan in the Netherlands and in continental Europe, and is committed to working with international clients like W.P. Carey around the world, whether it’s in Europe, North America, or Japan. We also look forward to working with partners such as ING Real Estate Finance on future transactions.”
W. P. Carey Managing Director, Greg Butchart, noted, “The refinancing with Pricoa is a testament to W. P. Carey’s adherence to its strategy of investing in critical properties leased to solid tenants in industries that we believe will continue to perform over the long term. Overlaying this strategy is an adherence to conservative financial structuring and moderate debt ratios that maximize financing options and facilitate refinancing like the loan just closed with Pricoa.”
Source: FTI Consulting
