South African property magnate Natie Kirsh has completed his £282.5m purchase of Tower 42, in the City of London, with a £145m senior loan from Aviva Commercial Finance.
Aviva beat off competition from a number of rival banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Bank of Scotland and BAWAG, to secure the deal with a 20-year secured fixed-rate facility.
The provision of long-dated money by Aviva gave it an advantage over competing lenders, which were offering to finance the purchase of the six-strong City estate with five-year loans.
Kevin Sale, commercial finance director at Aviva, said: “We are very pleased to establish the relationship with Kirsh and assist in the funding of such an iconic and prime property. This is further evidence of our ability to fund high-quality transactions with property investors who have a long-term outlook.”
Kirsh said: “We are delighted to have completed the purchase of Tower 42 and thrilled that Aviva has provided about 50% of the money on a 20-year facility, which supports our long-term investment philosophy as we grow our international property portfolio.”
The estate comprises a freehold 2.2 acre site including the iconic 320,000 sq ft Tower 42 building – formerly known as the NatWest Tower – which is 95% let.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
