HSH Nordbank finances Castlelake's German buy

German lender HSH Nordbank is providing €200 mln to US investor Castlelake to finance the purchase of a commercial real estate portfolio.

The Kontor portfolio includes 109 properties with a total rental space of just under 180,000 m2. The assets are located in Hamburg and the surrounding areas and consist of office, retail and residential units.

Local savings bank Hamburger Sparkasse accounts for around 50% of the portfolio's total rental income.

Castlelake is a global institutional alternative investment firm focused on special situations. Established in 2005, Castlelake has $2.7 bn (€1.9 bn) of assets under management. The US investor made the purchase together with Hamburg-based Becken Group.

'The collaboration between Castlelake as a strategic investor and the Becken Group as experts for the local market provides an ideal combination of two experienced businesses,' said Peter Axmann, head of HSH Nordbank's real estate clients division.