Valad Europe, the diversified real estate investment manager, has completed a €310m (£298m) refinancing of its Valad Polish Retail Fund through three new loan facilities.
Seven of the nine assets owned by the vehicle were refinanced under a €169m term loan facility provided by ING Bank Slaski, which also acted as arranger, Alior Bank, Bank Zachodni WBK, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and Bank Millennium.
Centrum Janki shopping centre in Warsaw, which is about to undergo a €60m redevelopment, was refinanced under a €75m loan facility provided by Berlin Hyp.
The Ursynow shopping centre in Warsaw was refinanced under a €66m loan facility provided by ING and BZ WBK.
The Valad Polish Retail Fund is a closed-ended fund comprising six shopping centres and three hypermarkets, totalling more than 3m sq ft, in seven of Poland’s key cities, including Warsaw, Kraków and Wroclaw.
Valad Europe chief financial officer Fraser Kennedy said: “We are delighted to be working with our new lending partners at Berlin Hyp, Alior, BZ WBK and Bank Millennium, as well as continuing our relationships with ING and SEB.
“The fund holds a strong portfolio and this is demonstrated by the lenders’ confidence in the assets against which the loans are secured and Valad Europe’s ability to manage those assets.”
Thierry Leleu, head of funds management at Valad Europe, added: “We have worked hard to enhance the value of the Polish Retail Fund portfolio which has involved various asset management initiatives, including the €60m extension and refurbishment of Centrum Janki which will shortly get under way, the refurbishment of Szczecin Ster shopping centre and the refurbishment of the Rondo shopping centre in Bydgoszcz. With financing now secured for the next three years, we can continue with our efforts on actively managing the fund’s assets to optimise returns for our investing partners.”
Valad Europe manages €4bn of assets in Europe across its funds and mandates, comprising 550 assets and 4,700 tenants, with the retail sector representing more than 20% of Valad Europe’s total assets under management.
It has a team of more than 25 people working out of its Polish office in Warsaw.
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
