The real estate lending arm of Canadian institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has made its first debt investment in the UK by participating in a £525m (€607m) financing for Blackstone-owned property developer St Modwen.

Otera Capital has taken part in a five-year investment debt facility alongside RBC Capital Markets for St Modwen’s development pipeline and subsequent stabilisation of its logistics properties in major hubs across the UK. Once completed, the portfolio will offer 5m sqft of logistics space, consisting of small, mid, and big box units.

Rana Ghorayeb, president and CEO at Otera Capital, said: “We are thrilled to have completed our first debt transaction in the UK, a strategic market which provides portfolio diversification. 

“This transaction aligns well with our strategy of supporting our long-standing best-in-class relationships, such as Blackstone and RBC, as well as establishing a new relationship with St Modwen on high conviction assets with a strong ESG focus in our targeted countries of Canada, the US and the UK.

Axel Brinkmann, European head of real estate capital partners and real estate corporate banking for RBC, said: “We are very pleased to continue to support our longstanding client Blackstone and the St Modwen team on their journey to realise the potential of the St Modwen’s logistics business by delivering best-in-class, ESG-focused logistics space in a tightly supplied market.

“The hybrid and bespoke nature of the facilities reflects RBC’s ability to structure and execute innovative and market-leading debt solutions which support our clients’ strategic aims. We are also delighted to partner with Otera, with whom we have a strong lending relationship in North America, on their first lending transaction in the UK market.”

Gadi Jay, senior managing director at Blackstone’s real estate capital markets arm, said: “We are delighted to continue expanding our deep and longstanding relationship with RBC and are grateful for their ongoing support and partenership with our business.

“We are also pleased and grateful to have worked with Otera on their first European financing and look forward to doing more together in the future.”

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