Starwood International has closed the £270m refinancing of Gerald Ronson’s flagship City office tower.
The global private equity real estate giant signed off the five-year senior loan facility with Heron International and its partners, the General Reserve Fund of Qatar and Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd, yesterday afternoon.
Starwood will divide the loan between its UK-listed real estate debt fund Starwood European Real Estate Finance, and Starwood Property Trust, the US mortgage REIT.
Alongside the refinancing the trio will also inject £100m of fresh equity into the 46-storey Heron Tower , allowing a £370m construction loan – of which £300m was used – to be refinanced.
Heron International will also continue to manage the building, which is 65% let or in solicitors’ hands.
The funding of the loan puts an end to uncertainty over the future of the building after existing lender Wells Fargo considered calling in receivers after its short-term loan extension expired.
The original consortium of lenders to the project was led by Eurohypo and included German and American banks.
