'C&W to advise Eurohypo on Spanish loan portfolio'

Cushman & Wakefield has received an instruction to advise Eurohypo on a EUR 400 mln loan portfolio in Spain, well-informed sources have told PropertyEU. The German bank owns more than 50% of the portfolio. with other lenders reportedly including Spain's Kutxa bank.

Neither Cushman & Wakefield nor Eurohypo would comment on the reports. The loan portfolio is said to comprise six office developments and redevelopments, four of which are located in Madrid and two in Barcelona. The loans are secured against Spanish property company Monteverde, which has gone into administration. Industry watchers say the mandate for C&W will likely result in a sale of the portfolio

The reports come shortly after Eurohypo announced pre-tax losses of EUR 785 mln in 2010, up over 50% on 2009 due to higher than expected loan loss provisions. Loan loss provisions rose to EUR 1.4 bn last year, driven primarily by the ongoing difficulties on the Spanish real estate market and the persistently high loan loss provisions in the US.

The German government is under pressure from the European Commission to divest its interest in three banks, including Eurohypo, the property lending arm of Commerzbank, in return for the state handouts they received in the wake of the financial crisis.

The April edition of PropertyEU features an in-depth article on the wind-up of European property banks

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