Welput, a specialist property investor in West End of London, has completed a refinancing of up to £200 mln (€280 mln) with US banking group Wells Fargo.
Welput, a specialist property investor in West End of London, has completed a refinancing of up to £200 mln (€280 mln) with US banking group Wells Fargo.
The new loan will be used to refinance an existing £132 mln facility which has an interest rate of 5.33% and was due to mature in December 2015.
Welput, a specialist fund managed by Schroders and advised by Quintain Estates and Development, has drawn down an initial £100 mln on the new loan at less than half the interest rate of the previous loan. The loan is secured against six of the nine properties in the Welput portfolio.
The facility comprises the £100 mln term loan already drawn together with a revolving credit facility (RCF) of £100 mln, both with a maturity of five years plus two options for one year extensions at Welput’s discretion.
The term loan is a fixed rate loan at a rate of 1.37% plus margin. Based on a closing loan-to-value ratio of less 20%, the initial all-in interest rate on the term loan is 2.27%. The RCF is a floating rate loan and both loans carry the same margin which is ratcheted depending on LTV and, in each case, is capped at 1.40%.
'This refinancing more than halves WELPUT’s interest cost whilst also providing a high level of flexibility for the continued implementation of our successful portfolio strategy. This new facility, combined with the £162 million equity raise which we completed in March, provides a strong platform from which to enhance performance returns for Welput’s investors,' said Andrew MacDonald, head of real estate finance at Schroders.
