Allen & Overy said today the recent EUR646 million public Logistics UK 2015 and EUR181m REITALY Finance 2015 CMBS transactions mark important steps towards the revival of the CMBS market in Europe.
The Logistics UK 2015 transaction, which closed in August, is backed by a single floating rate loan secured by 42 distribution warehouse properties located throughout the UK and ultimately owned by Logicor Europe Holdings, a portfolio company of The Blackstone Group.
The REITALY Finance transaction, which closed earlier this month, is backed by a single floating rate loan secured by an Italian real estate portfolio which consists of shopping centres, cash-and-carry outlets and smaller shops largely concentrated in northern Italy. The loan was provided by Goldman Sachs for the purpose of purchasing the property portfolio and, like Logistics UK 2015, the transaction comprises eight debt tranches and class x strips. The transactions’ maturity dates are August 2025 and May 2027, respectively.
Allen & Overy’s structured finance team advised Goldman Sachs International as sole arranger and lead manager and Goldman Sachs entities as loan sellers on both transactions.
The team was led by London based structured real estate finance partner Christian Lambie. Christian commented: “These transactions reinforce our view that the CMBS market is gradually coming back. While issuance still lags pre-crisis levels, it’s encouraging to see that volumes in 2015 to date have exceeded those of last year and we’re optimistic about the pipeline for 2016. Conditions remain challenging, however, and investors are hunting for yield in a low yield environment. There are no obvious stalls in the real estate market, and there remain significant refinancing requirements which continue to prompt demand for deals like this.”
The wider REITALY Finance team comprised Milan based partner Stefano Sennhauser together with London based partner Vanessa Hardman. Senior associate Pietro Bellone (Milan) and associates Jia Wei Chin and Fraser Macdonald (London) provided support. Tax advice was provided by Milan based head of tax Francesco Guelfi and senior associate Elia Ferdinando Clarizia. The Logistics UK 2015 team was also supported by London based partner Vanessa Hardman, as well as senior associate Iona Misheva and associate Martin Brennan.
