IEF Capital, a joint venture between Bouwfonds Investment Management and the Inflation Exchange Fund, has announced that it has fully repaid the €1 bn CMBS loan ahead of its maturity date on behalf of the €1.65 bn IEF Capital Berlage fund.
The remaining portion of the CMBS loan of €480 mln was repaid by securing two new loans with ING and BerlinHyp for an amount of €415 mln and with Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance for €65 mln.
As such, IEF Capital Berlage has completed the strategy initiated in 2014 to refinance the original €1 bn CMBS arranged in 2006 which came to maturity at the end of the year.
In total, the fund has replaced the CMBS with five separate ongoing financing arrangements with lending consortia consisting of Dutch as well as foreign banks and other institutional parties.
Under the latest financing agreement, ING provided €295 mln, part of which will be syndicated, while BerlinHyp underwrote €120 mln.
The portfolio features several iconic properties, including De Bijenkorf department stores in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It also includes other retail properties at prime A1 locations in the historical centres of major cities.
There are another two buildings, which were previously leased by V&D, in the cities of Groningen and Nijmegen. Both properties are fully let and will be thoroughly renovated over the next six months.
Peter Brandsma, director corporate clients at ING REF said: ’Despite the turbulence on the Dutch retail market, the portfolio has proved to be extremely robust. We are fully confident that due to its active management IEF Capital will continue to further optimise the portfolio.’
'This attractive financing, the largest in the fund, translates into a further continuation of our relationship and provides us with the opportunity to optimally execute our activities in this property portfolio,' added Nechemja de Bruijn of IEF Capital.
