 |
| St. Katharine Docks, London, England |
LONDON, ENGLAND –– Allianz
Real Estate and Brookfield have refinanced Blackstone’s St Katharine Docks,
London, in a deal coordinated by HFF Real Estate Limited (HFF).
Allianz as senior lender arranged the senior
facility on behalf of a number of Allianz Group insurers. Brookfield - through
the Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund V - provided mezzanine financing.
The five-year,
floating-rate deal represents the first time Blackstone has borrowed from both
Allianz and Brookfield in Europe. Additionally, this marks the first
transaction globally in which Allianz Real Estate and Brookfield have partnered
together on a financing.
 |
| Roland Fuchs |
St. Katharine Docks, a
23-acre estate built in 1827 and central London’s only marina, has evolved into
an iconic destination within London with more than 500,000 square feet of
commercial space and featuring 80 companies, 24 bars and restaurants, 200
berths and 6,500 employees.
In 2014,
Blackstone strategically purchased the asset via the acquisition of Max
Property Group and has since enhanced the asset via significant capital
improvements that have attracted top-tier tenants such as WeWork, Clarkson
Plc., QA Limited and Six Degrees.
The debt provided by
Allianz is split into a senior term loan and a capex line to redevelop Devon
House, a 90,000-square-foot building on the estate.
It is Allianz’ second UK transaction in 2018
– in April, Allianz lent £50 million as part of the £100 million development
financing for 80 Fenchurch Street, a prime office property in the City of
London. Both deals are part of Allianz’s European value-add growth
strategy.
 |
| Brad Greenway |
“This is a landmark
opportunity to refinance one of London’s unique estates, said Roland Fuchs, Head of European Debt at Allianz Real Estate.
"St Katharine
Docks is a prime development that correlates with our focus on very
high-quality, long-term assets owned by exceptional managers such as
Blackstone.
“This deal, our
second value-add transaction in the UK this year, also illustrates our
increasing focus on London, which we believe will continue to be one of the
world’s most influential and dynamic cities offering a compelling selection of
prime assets for investors.”
The HFF debt placement
team working on behalf of Blackstone included director Brad Greenway and
managing director Edward Daubeney.
“To be able to bring
together three world-class real estate platforms for an inaugural, iconic
transaction shows the strength of the London market and Blackstone’s ability to
impressively execute on the identified repositioning,” Greenway said.
 |
| Edward Daubeney |
“Blackstone has
breathed life into St. Katharine Docks while continuing to execute its
successful business plan,” Daubeney added. “It has been a real pleasure
working with all the parties involved on an important mandate for the HFF
London team.”
For more
information, please contact:
KIMBERLY STEELE
HFF Digital
Content/Public Relations Specialist
(713)
852-3420
OR
BRAD
GREENWAY
HFF
Director
+44 (0)20 7509 6700
EDWARD DAUBENEY
HFF Managing Director
+44 (0)20 7509 6700
Allianz Real Estate:
LEILA
SALIMI
+33
1 42 99 63 15
or
Citigate
Dewe Rogerson FAO Nick Corrin / Hugh Fasken / Patrick Evans
+44
(0)20 7638 9571
