Multi clinches EUR 165m facility for Forum Duisburg

Multi Development has secured a EUR 165 mln financing facility for its Forum Duisburg shopping centre which opened in the German city of Duisburg in North Rhine-Westphalia last year. The developer signed the financing agreement with German banks Hypo Vereins, Eurohypo, Sparkasse and Helaba on Monday.

Marcel Kokkeel, director of Western European development at Multi, told Dutch financial newspaper Het Financieele Dadblad that the firm is very happy to have agreed the financing at a time when banks are lending less and are applying more demanding conditions due to the disruption of the financial markets. The loan runs for five years and the interest rate is set at 1.25% above the Euribor interbank rate. Multi is retaining ownership of the mall.

He noted that financing shopping centre development is taking much longer than before the onset of the global financial crisis, and banks are also more cautious. Multi provided 30% of the total development cost for Forum Duisburg, which it describes as one of the most modern inner-city, integrated shopping centres in Germany. The 57,000-m² mall comprises 90 retail outlets and extensive leisure and restaurant facilities. The centre also features 1,200 parking places.

'The times that you could borrow 80% to 85% of your development costs are over. In general, the maximum is now about 70%, so you have to contribute more of your own funds,' Kokkeel added. He noted, however, that the maximum can be higher, depending on the strengths of a specific project.

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