Allianz Real Estate has completed three refinancing deals in prime locations for a total of €476 mln as it looks to strengthen its debt portfolio.

London''s South Bank from the air.

London''s South Bank From the Air.

Roland Fuchs, head of European Debt, said the firm was on course to open up its debt platform to third-party institutional investors later this year. 'Our European debt portfolio continues to grow strongly, driven by our focus on prime assets and partners in tier 1 locations in Europe,' he said.

'We are encouraged by the rapid growth of our debt platform and the direct, simplified access it gives Allianz Group insurance companies to prime European real estate debt.'

The largest of the three deals is the financing of Southbank Central in London for €200 mln, for an affiliate of private investment firm Starwood Capital Group. Starwood acquired the development project in December last year for a reported €285 mln and is transforming the former South Bank Tower into 21,000 m2 of primarily office space, as well as residential, retail and restaurant components.

The transaction is the latest in a series of major debt investments in London for Allianz, following the financing of St Katherine Docks, 80 Fenchurch Street and 55 Baker Street.

The insurer is also providing €136 mln of financing for an office building in Paris. The 22,000 m2 asset at 92 Avenue de France was acquired by a 50/50 joint venture including Oxford Properties, with CACIB lending a further €27.4 mln and acting as arranger. A 12-year lease has been signed with publisher Edits following the departure of the previous tenant, SNCF Réseau.

In Stuttgart Allianz is the sole lender in a €140 mln refinancing deal for the Köningsbau Passagen retail and office building on Schlossplatz. The building, which is asset managed by Evans Randall Investors, was recently sold to Italian investors Antirion SGR and PosteVita.

Allianz Real Estate's 2018 results show that its European debt portfolio topped €7.8 bn for the year, following a record period of €2.1 bn in loans and the launch of its Luxembourg-based debt find, which deployed more than €1 bn in capital by year-end in the UK, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Sweden.