FINANCE: Paddy McKillen and Colony Capital continue to refinance Project Pebble debt with the £100m refinancing of the Frenchgate shopping centre.
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided the facility secured against the 800,000 sq ft Doncaster mall, which is ultimately owned by Patrick McKillen, Padraig Drayne and affiliates of Colony Capital.
The transaction completed at the beginning of September. The borrower was advised by Eastdil Secured.
Frenchgate is 95% occupied and let to 120 national and international retailers. It was bought by a consortium of private Irish investors for £250m in 2006.
The shopping centre’s legacy debt was included in the €800m IBRC Project Pebble loans sale process, which was won by McKillen and the US private investment firm in March this year.
Following that transaction, McKillen and Colony repaid the legacy debt secured by the Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin at par and refinanced the prime asset with a €140m five-year loan with M&G Investments.
Project Pebble also included McKillen’s €246m personal loans from Anglo Irish Bank secured by a charge on his 36.2% stake in Coroin Limited, Maybourne Hotel Group’s parent company which owns Claridge’s, the Connaught and The Berkeley.
Charles Balch, head of real estate finance international, UK & CEE at pbb, said: “We are delighted to be providing this financing for this regional shopping centre.
“The transaction represents further expansion of the bank’s portfolio secured on regional assets. It evidences pbb’s appetite to provide financing for assets outside London.”
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
