Dutch portfolio sale looms after failed refinancing talks

A EUR 865 mln office portfolio in the Netherlands faces a potential forced sale after the collapse of refinancing talks between Eurohypo and the bondholders of the Opera Finance CMBS facility underpinning the assets.

Special servicer Eurohypo issued a statement this week saying it will 'consider all available options' after the refinancing talks failed 'due to a lack of consensus'. Options under consideration include the disposal of the portfolio owner, Uni-Invest, either consensually or via a loan enforcement process, the bank said. The Opera facility was issued in 2005.

Uni-Invest ran into trouble after being forced to cancel an Initial Public Offering on Euronext in 2007, due to 'adverse market conditions'. The IPO was designed to raise EUR 373 mln, which would have been used to repay part of the loan. Founded in 1924 Uni-Invest was listed in Amsterdam until 2003, a year after it was acquired by a consortium led by Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners.

Uni-Invest owns a portfolio of 207 offices across the Netherlands valued at EUR 865 mln. Market sources say the portfolio, which is put at around 1.1 million m2, has a vacancy rate of about 20-40%. Eurohypo provided a loan for the assets back in 2005 and put it in a CMBS facility called 'Opera Finance', which had an initial volume of over EUR 1 bn.

Eurohypo had been in talks with the bondholders and its advisers since Uni-Invest defaulted on a senior loan balance target in February 2011. Uni-Invest's EUR 752 mln debt load was already extended in February 2010, and it now comes to maturity in February 2012.

'The special servicer recognises the importance of maintaining the company's day-to-day activities and will be working closely with the company to ensure these are maintained and the value of the collateral for the senior loan preserved,' Eurohypo said, adding that it will continue to engage Cairn Capital as financial adviser.

Uni-Invest declined to comment on the developments, saying that it was not party to the negotiations between Eurohypo and the bondholders. Uni-Invest is currently headed by Pieter Roozenboom, the company’s former CFO. Richard Homburg stepped down as CEO in 2002 following the takeover by Lehman Brothers