Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has acted as legal adviser to Deutsche Bank as lead manager on a €1.4 billion securitisation of a residential property portfolio owned by Vesteda Woningen.
The transaction involved the issuance by Vesteda Residential Funding I B.V. (the Issuer) of three classes of Class A Notes in an aggregate amount of € 1.2 billion. The Issuer can further issue up to € 200 million in RC Notes. Both the Class A Notes and the RC Notes are AAA rated. The Class A Notes are listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The Issuer on lent the proceeds of the Class A Notes to Vesteda Woningen by way of term facilities and the proceeds of RC Notes issued at the same time as the Class A Notes, by way of a revolving credit facility. Vesteda Woningen is a Dutch mutual fund, in which Stichting ABP, ING Vastgoed and other institutional investors participate, owning a property portfolio of approx. 38,000 units.
Pieter van Welzen, the Amsterdam based partner who led the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team of advisers, commented: 'This is the first securitisation in the Netherlands that has taken the form of a secured loan. It was also the first securitisation that involved a Dutch mutual fund as originator. It indicates that new innovative securitisation structures developed abroad can be adapted to the Dutch market and the Dutch legal framework.'
The structured finance team in Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerÂ's Amsterdam office, consisting of Dutch and English qualified lawyers, worked on this transaction. Partner Pieter van Welzen led the team, which included associates Helen Furness, Dimitri van Hoewijk, Shawn der Kinderen and Sejal Shah. The Dutch law firm Stibbe acted for Vesteda Woningen.
(source: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)
