Together with Invesco Real Estate, Aareal Bank has provided a cross-border credit facility for the financing of a complex, large-sized portfolio: a milestone in the financing of cross-border transactions.
Severin Schöttmer is delighted with the professional and trustful cooperation with Invesco Real Estate, a longstanding customer of the Bank. In December 2016 Aareal Bank was mandated by Invesco Real Estate to arrange a credit facility of up to € 1 billion. Schöttmer, Managing Director Special Property Finance at Aareal Bank AG, says: "What we have assembled with this project, together with our client, is a milestone in financing large-volume cross-border transactions. The project points the way ahead for the sector. Demands were very complex because it is a credit facility that crosses frontiers in financing a portfolio of firstclass properties in top locations of 27 cities, across seven countries. The financing will run for 10 years. What was called for was great flexibility in regard of currencies, fungibility of the diversified property portfolio and solutions in respect of growth potentials."
The project points the way ahead for the sector.
"We have been able to meet all the stringent requirements" says Schöttmer. "But it has been our structuring expertise and our "local footprint" that tipped the scales for us. That is because we have specialist teams with cross-border expertise, our strong regional presence in Europe through the combined use of market and sector experts and an excellent track record through various benchmark transactions in the last few years. Our big network, many years of knowhow and efficient processes permitted us to make a success of this transaction, together with the client."
Andy Rofe, Invesco Real Estate’s Managing Director – Europe commented: ”We are delighted to announce the partnership with Aareal Bank AG, with whom we have worked for many years now. For us, this is a groundbreaking project in our industry, which creates a loan facility that fits both the profile and nature of our European mandate. This tailor-made facility means stability and reliability for our diversified portfolio with its high-quality properties in some of the best locations in Europe over the next ten years. Furthermore, it gives us the necessary flexibility to further expand our European man date or to sell properties, thus optimising our performance for the benefit of our investors."
The remarkable thing about this financing is the focused collaboration, combined with the high degree of professionalism and expertise on both Aareal Bank's and the client's part.
"Needless to say that we use digital data rooms for the communication with our partners, in order to accelerate processes. The financing comprises seven countries and two currencies. To manage that successfully, it is not only Aareal Bank's Sales units who carry out their acquisition and analysing activities in a targeted manner, Credit Management is also extensively involved with various risk management, transaction management and transaction advisory (i.e. supervision of contract documentation) teams. The Treasury division supports this type of financing with a high level of expertise, and so do the valuers of our subsidiary, Aareal Valuation GmbH, and the circle is completed by the experts in our syndication team who successfully structured and implemented the syndication. This shows that the knowledge needed for a successful transaction must be broadly diversified.“
