Ashurst advised pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (pbb) on financing the acquisition of a commercial real estate portfolio by investment and asset management firm, Catalyst. The purchase price amounts to around €200 million, the financing to €120 million.

The portfolio comprises ten commercial properties located, amongst others, in Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich with a size of more than 93,000 square metres in total. The sellers are TRIUVA Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH and a large German public sector pension scheme.

The Ashurst team was led by partner Sebastian Schoon. He was supported by counsel Christiane Bestgen, associate Ralf Stenger and transaction manager Anna Zoth (all Finance, Munich) as well as senior associate Michael Mehler (Real Estate, Frankfurt). Partner Isabelle Lentz, senior associate Françoise Haralamb and associate Conrad Proulx from Ashurst's London-based Luxembourg Desk covered Luxembourg law.

Ashurst advises pbb regularly within the context of real estate financing and refinancing in Germany. pbb is a leading European special bank for real estate and public investment financing. The bank's central refinancing instrument is the German Pfandbrief, making it one of the largest market players in this context.