Loan breach drives REO to NAMA talks

  Real Estate Opportunities, in which Irish developer Treasury Holdings owns a major stake, is set for negotiations with NAMA, Ireland’s “bad bank”, after a loan secured on its €342m of Irish assets breached a covenant.   The listed company, which owns Battersea Power Station in London, saw the €50m junior portion of a €425m loan breach its loan-to-value covenant.    A report to investors who bought bonds secured against the Irish investment said the value of the portfolio, which includes Stillorgan shopping centre in Dublin, plunged last year from €535m in June to €342m in November.   According to the report, junior lender Anglo Irish asked DTZ Sherry to undertake the revaluation on its behalf.   Based on this valuation, said the report, the LTV had increased from 70% to 110%.   It added that the borrower expected the junior loan to be transferred to NAMA later this month.   The senior portion of the loan was arranged and securitised by Eurohypo. This “continues to perform and is serviced by a strong income flow generated from a broad range of well-located, blue chip tenants, mainly in Dublin,” a REO spokesman told EG.   It emerged this week that Graham Emmett, the former Goldman Sachs UK property lending head and Delancey finance director, has been appointed head of lending for NAMA, which will buy €81bn of loans from Irish lenders at deep discounts.   michael.phillips@estatesgazette.com