IVG reduces debt by further EUR 200m

Germany's listed property group IVG Immobilien is repaying EUR 200 mln of debt following the transfer of seven caverns to the IVG Cavern Fund.

The move comes on top of IVG Immobilien's EUR 320 mln partial repayment of its core financing a month ago and is a further bid at lowering the company's loan-to-value ratio. The company has repaid around EUR 520 mln of debt under its Core and SynLoan II financing alone. In the medium term, the group intends to reduce its debt load by a further EUR 800 to 900 mln to EUR 3 bn.

'We have not only ensured the growth of the IVG Cavern Fund on schedule, we have also again kept our promise on reducing debt,' commented Wolfgang Schäfers, CEO of IVG Immobilien.

'The repayments to date will substantially reduce the company’s interest expenses,' added CFO Hans Volkert Volckens. 'We are therefore continuing to assume that we can end 2012 with an almost break-even result and comfortably move back into the black in 2013.'

18 caverns have been completed and transferred to the IVG Cavern Fund since its launch in 2008 with 40 existing caverns. A further 12 caverns are scheduled to be completed and transferred to the fund by 2014, bringing the fund's total investment volume to around EUR 1.7 bn. The fund, which is owned by 14 German institutional investors, is managed by IVG Institutional Funds.