Allianz Real Estate has expanded its debt portfolio with a £400 mln (€435m) financing secured against five central London offices.
The deal – Allianz’s largest single-loan debt transaction in Europe – was closed on behalf of several Allianz group companies and is the second major transaction this month following the acquisition of two prime office buildings which form part of the landmark office complex Citylights in the Paris region.
The off-market deal of approximately €500 mln represents the largest office transaction that Allianz Real Estate has closed in Europe.
The London portfolio is fully owned by Lazari Investments, which owns and manages multiple portfolios of real estate assets in central London.
Totalling more than 630,000 sq ft (58,530 m2), the portfolio represents good quality office assets in prime locations let to investment grade tenants across a range of industry sectors with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 12 years. It is the first transaction between Allianz and the Lazari group, a like-minded investor which has adopted a long-term strategy based on active asset management of a defensive portfolio of central London office assets.
Allianz Real Estate has now established a four-strong London debt team, covering both origination and local loan asset management. This new deal is the seventh debt transaction in London and it is the third since it opened its London office in June 2019.
The financing of these five assets is one of the latest deals to be completed through Allianz Real Estate’s Luxembourg-based debt fund Parec, which was launched in 2018 to simplify access to European real estate debt investments for Allianz group insurers and third-party investors. The transaction means that the fund now has approximately €3.4 bn in assets under management.
‘This portfolio of five prime freehold central London offices reaffirms our commitment to the London market and its importance in driving our long-term investment strategy,’ said Shripal Shah, head of debt origination - London, Allianz Real Estate. ‘Despite the current environment, the UK market continues to offer excellent opportunities for investment, with London in particular remaining one of Europe’s most active and attractive property markets.’
‘Our European debt business pursues its prime oriented, resilient and sustainable debt investment strategy on a pan-European level whilst continuing to take a disciplined approach to growing our portfolio of high-quality assets,’ added Roland Fuchs, head of European Debt, Allianz Real Estate.
