Berlin Hyp, Helaba grant €198m loan for Dutch retail portfolio

German lenders Berlin Hyp and Helaba are providing €198 mln to IEF Capital Berlage Fund to finance 18 retail properties in the Netherlands.

BerlinHyp and Helaba are arranger and lender for the full amount. Berlin Hyp is acting as agent.

The loan commitment is for a term of eight years and replaces part of the CMBS transaction used to date.

The retail portfolio comprises a mix of properties leased on long-term basis to Dutch retailers such as Hema, V&D and De Bijenkorf. The properties are spread throughout the Netherlands, but with a focus on
Randstad, the economic core region between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

The portfolio includes one of the flagship stores of the department store chain De Bijenkorf in The Hague. In total, it comprises 111,000 m2 of usable space.

The owner is a fund managed by IEF Capital, a joint venture between Bouwfonds Investment Management and IEF, a €2.5 bn fund manager specialising in retail properties.

Boekel De Nerée acted as legal counsel for the lenders. The borrower was advised by law firm Loyens & Loeff.

Berlin Hyp has issued €1.8 bn in new property loans in the first six months of 2014, twice as much as in the same period last year. Of the €1.8 bn in new lending, €373 mln was in the form of extensions to existing facilities.

Helaba has recently expanded its real estate debt syndication activities in Europe through a partnership with multi-asset investment house, Standard Life Investments. Helaba's business volume stood at over €33 bn at end-2013.