Yesterday, Sonae Sierra, Coimpredil and AIG Real Estate Partners L.P., a pan-European real estate fund managed by affiliates of AIG Global Real Estate, signed an 18 year, limited recourse mortgage-backed loan agreement with a Bank Syndicate led by Unicredit Banca Mediocredito (UBMC) as Mandated Lead Arranger.
This 119 million facility will fund the joint venture special purpose vehicle (Sonae Sierra 50%, AIG global Real Estate 40% and Coimpredil 10%) that will develop the shopping and leisure center project Freccia Rossa, in Brescia, Italy. The loan amount represents 83% of 143 million total estimated investment and was provided by a Bank Syndicate formed by Banca Mediocredito e Unicredit Banca D'Impresa (Unicredit Group), Intesa Mediocredito (Intesa Group), BIPOP (Capitalia Group), BNL, Banco di Brescia (Banca Lombarda Group), WestLB Italia. Freccia Rossa is a downtown shopping and leisure center project in Brescia and is a part of the "Comparto Milano" urban renewal project being carried out in a former industrial area.
With its 28.500 m2 of gross leasable area (GLA) and a parking facility for approximately 2.500 cars, Freccia Rossa will become the largest downtown shopping center in Italy, providing Brescia inhabitants with a family entertainment centre, a multiplex cinema, a health club, a supermarket, 23 restaurants and over 100 further shops.
The Freccia Rossa shopping and leisure center project is scheduled to open during the spring of 2007 and its commercial launch will take place during next February.
Source: Sonae Sierra
