Edmond de Rothschild REIM, acting through the Edmond de Rothschild European High Yield I Real Estate Debt Fund and a dedicated fund, has provided €50m of mezzanine debt for the acquisition of an office complex in Hamburg by B&L Group. B&L Group signed the purchase contract to acquire the office complex from Generali Deutschland AG and Commerz Real AG in September 2021. Situated between Besenbinderhof and Norderstrasse, the buildings have a lettable area of over 67,000m² plus ancillary areas and 500 underground parking spaces. The senior acquisition loan was provided by a syndicate comprising pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank as mandated lead arranger, Hamburger Sparkasse and Berlin Hyp.
When the lease with the main tenant, Generali Deutschland AG, expires at the end of 2023, B&L Group will implement a comprehensive refurbishment that puts an emphasis on sustainability and amenities, enhanced by the landscaped courtyards. The property is only a five minutes’ walk away from Hamburg central railway station and will benefit from its planned expansion in the long term.
Ralf Kind, Head of Real Estate Debt at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, commented: "Despite working under immense time pressure, this large mezzanine loan, forming part of a complex overall financing structure, was successfully implemented by our team on time. This deal continues an impressive series of attractive debt investments for development projects, property acquisitions and sale-and-leaseback transactions in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin that we have executed in recent months. The next deals, supported by a strong pipeline and accelerating national and international fundraising activities for the fund, are already in preparation."
