DLA Piper has advised Aareal Bank AG in relation to the arrangement of a five-year €447 million financing for a European hotel portfolio managed by Swedish hotel property company Pandox AB.

The portfolio comprises a total of 14 high-quality hotels in the upper full-service segment, in first-class locations in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, with a total of approximately 3,600 rooms – including the Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace, the Radisson Blu in Cologne, and the Park Hotel Amsterdam.

In December 2016 DLA Piper advised Aareal Bank on the €270 million financing of part of the portfolio, excluding the Belgian hotels. Building on this existing business relationship, Aareal Bank was now in a position to finance the expansion of the portfolio to include the seven Belgian hotels, and extend the facility by five years.

Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, is a leading international property specialist. It provides smart financings, software products, and digital solutions for the property sector and related industries, and is present across three continents: Europe, North America and Asia. Aareal Bank AG, whose shares are included in Deutsche Börse's MDAX index, is the Group's parent entity. It manages the various entities organised in the Group’s two business segments: Structured Property Financing and Consulting/Services.

The multi-disciplinary DLA Piper team was led by Frankfurt-based Finance, Projects & Restructuring partner Dr. Torsten Pokropp, and included senior associate Martin Wilmsen, transaction lawyer Dr. Zsuzsanna Somogyi-Csizmazia, and Tax of counsel Martin Heinsius. The team in Brussels comprised Finance, Projects & Restructuring partner Johan Mouraux, associates Caroline Coppens and Lucas De Four, Tax partner Philippe Hinnekens and lead lawyer Gregory Komlosi.

In-House the transaction was advised on the legal side by Mark Böhmer (lead) und Katy Peetermans and on the market side by Nicola Lichtenberg (each as known within the market).