CeGeREAL restructures EUR 400m debt with four banks

French office REIT CeGeREAL has secured EUR 400 mln in financing to replace its bank loan due in March 2013. The lending consortium consists of German groups Aareal Bank, Bayern LB, pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Landesbank Berlin / Berlin Hyp.

'This successful operation attests to the quality of CeGeREAL's portfolio of properties, their simple ownership structure and the banks' confidence in the robustness of the asset base,' the company said in a statement.

The loan is backed by a portfolio of three office properties with a combined surface area of 120,000 m² of which 81% is currently let. They include Arcs de Seine, one of the first complexes in the area to obtain HQE Exploitation environmental certification.

CeGeREAL was assisted by Shift Capital to facilitate the negotiations with the banks, and by De Pardieu Brocas Maffei for legal and tax advice. The lenders were advised by Godet Gaillard Solle Maraux & Associés and Allez & Associés.

CeGeREAL owns a portfolio comprising three office buildings located in the inner suburbs of Paris and valued at EUR 860 mln.