Barings has provided a €240.3m loan to German investment firm Mikare Group to finance the construction of a 45,000sqm mixed-use scheme in Berlin.
The 36-month loan will fund the construction of two, predominantly residential towers, one standing at 96 metres and the other at 86 metres.
The towers comprise 179 for-sale residential apartments; 201 build-to-rent units; 80 serviced apartments; 6,600sqm of office space and 2,100sqm of retail.
Barings said 43% of the apartments for sale have already been pre-sold or reserved with the project expected to complete in the third quarter of 2022.
Sam Mellor, head of Europe and Asia-Pacific real estate debt, Barings, said: “Residential demand in Berlin remains robust, underpinned by European-wide urbanisation trends.
“This newly built, high specification residential-led, mixed-use project will benefit from an attractive central location, being in close proximity to key landmarks, and, with views across Berlin, we expect it to attract interest from both German and international buyers.”
Mellor said the significant pre-sales are evidence of the high demand for space at the scheme, a trend Barings is also seeing in the Berlin office market.
Ben Silver, head of global real estate debt, Barings, said: “Germany is a key market for the first phase of our European debt platform expansion and follows our entrance into the Spanish and Dutch markets last year.
“We are actively looking for further opportunities to grow our exposure in the western European debt market, replicating the success of our UK debt platform.”
