Schroder Property's Welput fund has secured a new £85 mln (EUR 102 mln) credit facility from US insurance company Metlife. The West End of London Property Unit Trust (Welput), which is managed by Schroder and advised by Grafton Advisors, was granted a six-year loan with a fixed rate of 3.64% per annum.
Schroder Property's Welput fund has secured a new £85 mln (EUR 102 mln) credit facility from US insurance company Metlife. The West End of London Property Unit Trust (Welput), which is managed by Schroder and advised by Grafton Advisors, was granted a six-year loan with a fixed rate of 3.64% per annum.
Laxfield Capital, a debt origination and loan management business, worked with MetLife on the transaction.
Jane Gravestock, head of Fund Management for UK Specialist Funds at Schroders, said this is the first time the company has secured debt from an insurance company. 'This provides us with additional resources to take advantage of both new investment opportunities as well as continuing our strategy of pursuing income and value enhancing initiatives within the existing portfolio.'
MetLife provides loans on office, multi-family, industrial and retail properties in the US and internationally and has a commercial mortgage portfolio of $40 bn. The company has been active in the UK for over 10 years.
'The London real estate market is an important part of MetLife's commercial real estate lending area, and we are committed to establishing long-term relationships with top-tier institutional real estate owners on prime assets,' added Paul Wilson, regional director for MetLife Investments.
Welput was established in 2001 as a closed ended property unit trust. It provides investors with an exposure to the West End office market.
