Allianz Real Estate, the property arm of global insurer Allianz Group, has seen its European debt portfolio grow to €10.6 bn in assets under management as at the end of 2020, up by around 15% year-on-year.
The firm delivered €1.9 bn in new investments across the year, with capital deployed by its Luxembourg-based European debt fund, Parec, increasing to more than €4 bn, up by a third, the firm said.
Overall, the firm’s European debt portfolio is now spread across 12 countries in the region, including a logistics transaction in the Czech Republic – a €185 mln participation in joint deal to refinance a logistics and industrial portfolio managed by CTP – which closed in December.
Roland Fuchs, head of European debt at Allianz Real Estate, said: 'Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the respective challenges of 2020, we were able to foster attractive financing opportunities providing improved risk-return profiles triggering our European debt business to continuously grow in size and geographic footprint.
'Importantly, we have grown while maintaining our disciplined approach to lending. Our deep relationships with our partners, sponsors and borrowers, coupled with our unparalleled understanding of the market and the expertise of the pan-European debt team, has meant that along with the increase in assets under management, we navigated the crisis with no defaults on loan repayments.'
New initiatives
In May, Allianz Real Estate secured its first third-party client for its Luxembourg-based debt fund.German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer co-invested with a €300 mln stake in a sub-fund valued in total at €1.2 bn alongside Allianz.
At the start of the year, prior to the onset of the pandemic, the European financing team decided to increase the share of investments dedicated to transitional assets and development loans. This chiefly to address the increasing investor appetite to invest in ESG-focused loans while financing future-oriented offices – centrally located, sustainably operated 'smart' assets which focus on user experience and wellbeing.
In line with this, in July the firm closed a €200 mln ‘green loan' for the development of Arboretum in Paris, the largest solid-wood office development in Europe. The team concluded the year with two further such transactions: a €196 mln loan to Blackstone to refinance and refurbish two office buildings as well as the construction of a new office building in Amsterdam; while €250 mln was provided to Tishman Speyer to redevelop the recently acquired Tour Cristal in Paris into a grade A office.
The year also saw Allianz Real Estate’s London office become fully established as the third European hub for the firm’s regional debt programme alongside its teams based in Munch and Paris.
François Trausch, CEO Allianz Real Estate, commented: 'In a year of heightened volatility and profound disruption, Allianz Real Estate has delivered an excellent result in terms our European debt proposition.
'The team has reacted swiftly to client and stakeholder demands and developed new relationships and deepened existing ones. As the world looks to normalize in the wake of the pandemic, we are very well positioned to meet our ambitions to be a leader in European real estate debt financing.'
