Cornerstone secures €240m refinancing

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers has secured a €240 mln refinancing loan from Nykredit for its Kamppi shopping centre in the centre of Helsinki.

The asset is the largest shopping centre in the Nordic Retail Fund, an investment scheme advised by Cornerstone.

Nykredit, which previously financed the fund’s acquisition of Kamppi in 2008 with a €240 mln loan maturing in December 2014, has now agreed terms for a new loan of the same amount that will mature in September 2017.

The new loan, with an initial margin of 1.5%, also provides a revolving capex facility that will enable the fund to finance further asset management projects at Kamppi.

Through a number of active asset management initiatives since acquisition, Cornerstone has increased footfall at Kamppi by more than 9% to 35 million visitors per annum whilst increasing sales by over 30% to €247 mln per annum.

Kamppi opened in March 2006 and provides 35,000 m2 of retail and leisure space over six floors. The property was acquired by Cornerstone for the fund in April 2008.

'The fact that we have been able to refinance Kamppi, significantly ahead of schedule, underlines the high quality of this asset,' said Charles Weeks, CEO of Cornerstone Europe.