German financier Helaba has announced that it has provided a €53 mln five-year loan to finance the purchase by Investcorp of Coca-Cola’s Belgium HQ in Brussels.
Investcorp bought the asset earlier this week in a sale-and-leaseback worth €88 mln. Dubbed The Bridge, the single let office and research & development (R&D) asset is located in southwest Brussels and was built in 2001. It comprises three interconnected buildings covering 35,300 m2. The vendor was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, which has signed a 10-year lease deal for the scheme.
The acquisition marked Investcorp’s entry into Belgium real estate market and is its first European sale and leaseback transaction.
Helaba has been active in the Benelux countries for many years. Brussels, Luxembourg and the Dutch Randstad region are among the bank's most important target markets outside Germany.
Martin Erbe, Head of Real Estate Finance Central at Helaba, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to expand our portfolio in Belgium, one of our key target markets, by financing this well-let and attractive property as well as to support Investcorp in acquiring this asset.’
Investcorp was supported by JLL’s Frankfurt based Debt Advisory team.