US lender Pricoa Mortgage Capital Company has provided £48 mln (€56 mln) in financing for Hines Global REIT’s recent purchase of an office building in London.
US lender Pricoa Mortgage Capital Company has provided £48 mln (€56 mln) in financing for Hines Global REIT’s recent purchase of an office building in London.
The loan is secured by One Westferry Circus, an eight-storey, 20,000 m2 office property in Canary Wharf built in 1992 by Olympia & York.
Drew Abernethy, head of European originations for Pricoa Mortgage Capital said that companies are increasingly exploring Canary Wharf as a location due to its low occupancy cost compared to other established office markets and the area’s improving infrastructure and access.
‘The relative value of Canary Wharf, combined with the strength and experience of Hines and the quality of this property, formed a compelling transaction,’ he said.
‘Pricoa has tailored this seven-year loan to meet our needs,’ said Ian Brown of Hines UK. ‘It extends beyond several lease events and allows us to focus on our property strategy without the complication of maturing debt.’
Pricoa said it has up to €1 bn available for long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe this year, with the potential to do ‘significantly more’ than this.
All European debt will be denominated in local currency and secured by income-producing real estate. Pricoa is primarily interested in office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties in and around large population centres such as London, the major cities in Germany, Paris and the Netherlands.
The firm said it is also seeking opportunities to finance transactions in collaboration with local banks, especially on the European continent.
