Frankfurt/Berlin/Munich/Warsaw – Helaba, Berlin Hyp and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank have jointly underwritten an investment facility totaling € 370 million to refinance the Warsaw Spire Office complex. The assets are owned by the newly established Ghelamco European Property Fund. The transaction closed in August 2017. Helaba, Berlin Hyp and pbb are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers providing equal portions of the fundings, with Helaba acting as facility and security agent of the transaction.
The Warsaw Spire complex consists of 3 buildings totaling 115,000 m² of GLA. The main tower, Warsaw Spire A, is with its heights of 220-metre and a hyperboloid glass façade already one of the iconic building on the Warsaw skyline neighbored by two 55-metre auxiliary buildings, Warsaw Spire B and C. This land mark complex won many awards within the last years including the MIPIM Award 2017 for the best construction project. The unique complex offers the optimum combination of location and quality within the very heart of the City. Implemented in the scheme are new technologies and green solutions which have attracted exceptionally well recognized tenants, committing to long leases on sustainable rents.
Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director, Ghelamco CEE said: "I am very proud of The Warsaw Spire project. The highest recognition for this investment is the MIPIM Award 2017 for the Best Office Complex. It has been appreciated not only by top tenants but also key players on the financial markets. On behalf of our company I would like to thank for the interest and constant support to all our partners who have provided funding and helped in its development so far. We are also happy to welcome Helaba, Berlin Hyp and pbb companies that will assist Ghelamco with refinancing the Warsaw Spire complex.
Michael Kröger, Head of International Real Estate at Helaba said: "We are pleased to support Ghelamco with this transaction, who is the most dominant developer and investor in the Polish market and a reliable partner for Helaba. Helaba is active in the region since more than 10 years and has underwritten loans of several bn Euros since then."
“We are pleased to have supported Ghelamco Group with this financing in Poland, one of our foreign target markets,” comments Gero Bergmann, Member of the Board of Management of Berlin Hyp.
Charles Balch, Head of International Clients, UK & CEE at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank said: "Pbb is delighted to support our long-standing client Ghelamco in this landmark transaction in Warsaw together with our partners Helaba and BerlinHyp. The deal underlines our continued strong interest in the CEE real estate markets, and Poland in particular.”
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Media Contacts:
Helaba
Mike Peter Schweitzer, +49 69 9132-2877, MikePeter.Schweitzer@helaba.de
Berlin Hyp
Nicole Hanke, +49 30 2599 9123, nicole.hanke@berlinhyp.de
pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
Walter Allwicher, +49 89 2880-28787, walter.allwicher@pfandbriefbank.com
Oliver Gruß, +49 89 2880-28781, oliver.gruss@pfandbriefbank.com
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About:
Ghelamco Poland is the leader of the commercial property market in Poland and a pioneer in sustainable construction, public space design, smart buildings and innovations. Over the past 26 years the company has built its leading position as an investor, developer and general contractor by delivering over 1,100,000 sq m of best-in-class office, residential, commercial, and warehouse space. The company’s flagship investment is Warsaw Spire with Plac Europejski (European Square), awarded a title of the best office building in the world in a prestigious competition MIPIM Awards 2017.
Helaba is a German Landesbank headquartered in Frankfurt and Erfurt and at important financial centres worldwide. As a balance-sheet lender with a sustainable business model, real estate business is focused on commercial properties in Germany, Europe and the US. Helaba started business in Central Eastern Europe in 2006. The bank finances office, retail and logistics properties in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia for institutional investors.
http://realestatefinance.helaba.com
Berlin Hyp
Some 150 years of experience in commercial real estate financing and forward-looking actions form the foundation for Berlin Hyp’s positioning as one of the leading German real estate and Pfandbrief banks. Our reliability, expertise and respectability characterise the partnership we have with our customers and within the Savings Banks Finance Group. Berlin Hyp cultivates long-term local customer relationships based on trust with its headquarters in Berlin, branches in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart, as well as international offices in Amsterdam, Paris and Warsaw.
pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (
www.pfandbriefbank.com) is a leading European commercial real estate and public investment lender. It is a leading issuer of Pfandbriefe and an important issuer of covered bonds in Europe. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In addition to Germany, the main business focus is on the UK, France, the Nordic countries and selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In these core markets, pbb offers its customers a strong local presence with expert knowledge across the whole spectrum of the financing process. As a result of its competencies in loan structuring, its cross-border approach and co-operation with funding partners, pbb is able to complete both complex financings and cross-border tranactions.