Private equity giant Blackstone has refinanced St Katharine Docks in London with a loan provided by Allianz Real Estate and Brookfield.
The five-year, floating-rate deal represents the first time Blackstone has borrowed from both Allianz and Brookfield in Europe. Additionally, this marks the first transaction globally in which Allianz Real Estate and Brookfield have partnered together on a financing.
Allianz acted as senior lender for the senior facility on behalf of a number of Allianz Group insurers. Brookfield - through the Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund V - provided mezzanine financing. The deal was coordinated by HFF Real Estate Limited.
The refinancing follows Blackstone’s decision to cancel its attempts to sell St Katherine Docks for £435 mln (€484 mln) last year.
Landmark in London
St Katharine Docks, built in 1827 is central London’s only marina and has evolved into an iconic destination within the UK capital. It comprises 93,000 m2, about half of which accounts for commercial space, featuring 80 companies, 24 bars and restaurants, 200 berths and 6,500 employees.
In 2014, Blackstone strategically purchased the asset via the acquisition of Nick Leslau's Max Property Group and has since enhanced the asset via significant capital improvements that have attracted top-tier tenants such as WeWork, Clarkson Plc., QA Limited and Six Degrees.
‘This is a landmark opportunity to refinance one of London’s unique estates. St Katharine Docks is a prime development that correlates with our focus on very high-quality, long-term assets owned by exceptional managers such as Blackstone,' commented Roland Fuchs, head of European debt at Allianz Real Estate.
'This deal, our second value-add transaction in the UK this year, also illustrates our increasing focus on London, which we believe will continue to be one of the world’s most influential and dynamic cities offering a compelling selection of prime assets for investors.'
In April, Allianz lent £50 mln as part of the £100 mln development financing for 80 Fenchurch Street, a prime office property in the City of London. Both deals are part of Allianz’s European value-add growth strategy.
