Dutch bank ABN Amro has shown its confidence in the Dutch residential sector by backing major refinancing transactions for investors Round Hill and Amvest.
UK-based investment manager Round Hill Capital said on Thursday that it has refinanced €460 mln of the acquisition debt secured against over €700 mln of residential holdings in the Netherlands with ABN Amro. The new debt facility is for a five-year term and is the largest of its kind in the Dutch residential property market.
Also on Thursday, Dutch fund manager Amvest revealed it had secured a new €700 mln loan refinancing for its residential core fund. This facility is being provided by ABN Amro, Deutsche Hypothekenbank and the German business of Dutch bank ING. ABN AMRO Bank was the coordinator for the process and will continue to act as facility agent. Deutsche Hypothekenbank is acting as security and valuation agent.
Round Hill was the first non-domestic investor to acquire a substantial portfolio of Dutch residential real estate assets following the financial crisis in May 2014. Since then, it has expanded its holdings with a string of acquisitions, bringing the total number of units to over 9,000.
Round Hill has been supported from the start in the roll-out of its Dutch residential strategy by ABN Amro, which financed the company's portfolio acquisitions with an option to refinance via institutional debt investors. ABN Amro participated in the latest refinancing and also acted as agent and security agent.
Michael Bickford, founder and CEO of Round Hill Capital, said: 'We are pleased to have secured this very attractive debt refinancing, which saw strong appetite from European institutional debt investors and offers Round Hill Capital funding diversification on highly competitive terms as well as substantial operational flexibility.'
Matthijs van der Horst, head of debt syndicate of ABN Amro, said: 'This is the largest transaction of its kind, underlining institutional investors' confidence in both the Dutch rental housing market and in Round Hill Capital’s strategy.'
Round Hill’s legal advisors on the transaction were Loyens & Loeff, with Clifford Chance advising the institutional debt investors.
Fund refinancing
Amvest's facility replaces the 6-year financing arrangement for €320 mln. The financing coincides with the extension of the fund term and was necessary Amvest said, 'because of the spectacular growth accomplished by the fund'.
'It underlines yet again the ever-increasing demand for medium-priced residential rental properties and the role played by institutional investors in creating supply. Over the next few years, the substantial pipeline of new houses created by Amvest will be added to the fund, Amvest said in a statement.
The new facility consists of a bullet loan of €350 mln at a fixed rate of interest and a €350 mln revolving credit facility at variable interest rates. The term of the facility extends to nearly 10 years and the loan has a flexible structure, with part of the portfolio being used as security for the banks.
Amvest was assisted in this transaction by Remit Consulting as financial adviser and Houthoff Buruma as lawyers and civil law notaries. The banks were represented by law firm Clifford Chance.
