Barings has provided a €240.3m floating-rate senior loan to Mikare Group, the German investment company, to finance the construction of a 45,000m² mixed-use scheme in Berlin. The 36-month loan will fund the construction of two high specifications, predominantly residential towers, one standing at 96 metres and the other at 86 metres. The towers comprise 179 for-sale residential apartments; 201 build-to-rent units; 80 serviced apartments; c. 6,600m² of office space and c. 2,100m² of retail. 43% of the apartments for sale have already been pre-sold or reserved with the project expected to complete in Q3 2022. The scheme is located in central Berlin, close to the River Spree and key transport hubs, including the major interchange at Berlin Ostbahnhof. Other nearby amenities include the East Side shopping mall, the Mercedes-Benz events arena, the famous Oberbaumbrucke Bridge and remnants of the historic Berlin Wall.
Sam Mellor, Head of Europe & Asia-Pacific Real Estate Debt, Barings, commented: “Residential demand in Berlin remains robust, underpinned by European-wide urbanisation trends. This newly built, high specification residential-led, mixed-use project will benefit from an attractive central location, being in close proximity to key landmarks, and, with views across Berlin, we expect it to attract interest from both German and international buyers. The significant pre-sales are evidence of the high demand for space at the scheme, a trend we are also seeing in the Berlin office market.”
Ben Silver, Head of Global Real Estate Debt, Barings, added: “Germany is a key market for the first phase of our European debt platform expansion and follows our entrance into the Spanish and Dutch markets last year. We are actively looking for further opportunities to grow our exposure in the western European debt market, replicating the success of our UK debt platform.”
