Vesteda, the Dutch residential property investment fund, has launched a EUR 350 mln commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS) issue for its Vesteda Residential Funding II BV programme.

Vesteda, the Dutch residential property investment fund, has launched a EUR 350 mln commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS) issue for its Vesteda Residential Funding II BV programme.

This is the first European CMBS transaction of 2010 and the first Dutch CMBS issue since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. The portfolio of underlying assets comprises rented multi-family apartment blocks and houses in the Netherlands.

The issue comprises EUR 350 mln of A7 notes rated AAA by Fitch, Standard & Poors and Moodys. ABN Amro acted as sole lead manager for the transaction and Bishopsfield Capital Partners as rating adviser. The notes have been placed with a single investor via a private placement and are underwritten by ABN AMRO.

Frits van der Togt, chief financial officer of Vesteda, said: 'The continued high quality of the underlying property portfolio and conservative nature of the financing, were integral to our achieving a AAA rating in a challenging market.'

Albert van Welderen Rengers, senior vice president of ABN Amro, added: 'ABN Amro is delighted to have led this transaction for Vesteda and to have successfully demonstrated that debt is available via CMBS. Vesteda is a new client for ABN Amro and this transaction underlines our strong commitment to the Dutch real estate and securitisation markets.'

Established in 1998, Vesteda develops, lets, manages and sells homes and residential complexes. The company's rental portfolio includes roughly 27,000 units valued at about EUR 5 bn. Vesteda is a private company and its shareholders are Dutch institutional investors.

Vesteda has maintained a 95% occupancy rate across its properties over recent years.