Amsterdam,
13
August
2019
|
17:51
Europe/Amsterdam

Canada Life Investments finances high street retail portfolio in the Netherlands

Canada Life Investments has granted a loan for the refinancing of a high street retail portfolio to a Dutch private investor. The portfolio includes prime located retail properties across major cities in the Netherlands.

The portfolio comprises 14 retail properties, divided over 9 cities throughout the country including Amsterdam, The Hague, Zwolle, Nijmegen and Den Bosch. All properties are located in prime retail areas in city centres. Eyecatcher of the portfolio is a property located at the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. This monumental property comprises of 2,700 sq. m. spread over 5 floors. It will be completely refurbished and used as flagship store by Dutch cosmetic brand Rituals, opening its doors in 2020. The rest of the portfolio profits from a strong tenancy base i.e. Etos, Sunglasshut, Scotch & Soda and Douglas. In addition to the retail units the portfolio contains 29 residential apartments and 2 offices that are located above the retail units.

Director of the private investor: “This refinancing has been very important for our business and we are therefore very pleased with the outcome. The positive market sentiment has enabled us to secure a long term financing against very favourable terms. Together with our advisors we have been able to run a smooth financing process and secure a long term partnership with Canada Life Investments.”

Mandy Froede, Senior New Business Manager and Conor Doyle, Business Development Director at Canada Life Investments, said in a statement: "We are very pleased to have completed our first real estate financing transaction in the Netherlands with a long term investor in the Dutch retail market who has built a high quality portfolio, anchored by a prime asset in the centre of Amsterdam. This unique, high-quality, multi-let portfolio with characteristic properties has provided a perfect opportunity to secure a long term investment. We are seeking to grow our Eurozone loan exposure with other high-quality opportunities and the Netherlands is one of the markets on which we focus.

Philip Zwart, Senior Director CBRE Debt & Structured Finance: “The iconic properties in this portfolio in combination with the track record of the investor and strong tenancy base make this a target investment for many lenders. For Canada Life Investments, favourable conditions and willingness to cooperate proved to be key in the end. We are very happy to have assisted the client in the process and hope this is the beginning of a long term collaboration between the parties.”

The investor was supported by CBRE in arranging the financing. The borrower’s legal counsel was Hogan Lovells and Canada Life Investments was advised by Taylor Wessing.

About CBRE

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue). The company has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 530 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.