Canada Life Investments has entered the Dutch market with the provision of a €40 mln refinancing secured against a portfolio of retail and residential assets situated in nine cities in the Netherlands.
This includes Africa House, a landmark building in the popular Kalverstraat in Amsterdam, which is being fully refurbished and re-opened in 2020 as the flagship store for Dutch cosmetic brand Rituals. The portfolio benefits from a strong tenancy base including Sunglass Hut, Scotch & Soda, Douglas, and Etos, the largest drugstore chain in the Netherlands.
The owner is an undisclosed private investor.
'We are seeking to grow our Eurozone loan exposure with other high quality opportunities and the Netherlands is one of the markets we are focusing on,' commented Nicholas Bent, head of Real Estate Finance at Canada Life Investments.
Philip Zwart, senior director debt & structured finance at CBRE, the advisory firm, also commented: 'The nature of properties in this portfolio along with the track record of the investor and a strong tenancy base made this a target investment for many lenders. Canada Life Investments’ favourable conditions and willingness to cooperate proved to be a key factor in getting this deal done.'
