German property financier Helaba has said it will remain selective as the office market in Greater London takes off. London is Helaba's second-largest foreign market after the US.
German property financier Helaba has said it will remain selective as the office market in Greater London takes off. London is Helaba's second-largest foreign market after the US.
Helaba's funding commitment in the UK principally covers London and the southeast of the country. Its focus is mainly on the financing of office property and retail real estate. The volume of new business as of end-June was around EUR 188 mln compared to EUR 116 million in the same period last year.
'Since the outbreak of the financial crisis, we have always been available without restriction for our customers. In line with our risk strategy, we were cautious in our lending operations. We will use the current phase of stabilization and market recovery to further expand our market position selectively. That means, we attach great importance - as in the past - to professional customers, high-quality properties and first-class locations,' said Johann Berger, Helaba's vice chairman, who is also responsible for real estate business.
In financing real estate Helaba acts as a classical balance sheet lender. 'It is not our primary aim to get the highest market shares possible,' Berger explained. 'Qualitative growth is the cornerstone of our business strategy. It is demonstrated by the high quality of our loan portfolio. This approach has also helped us in London to come through the crisis comparatively unscathed. Moreover, Helaba is the only German bank whose credit ratings have remained constant in the crisis.'