Swedish debt fund backs Revcap in Stockholm

Swedish debt fund Leimdörfer Real Estate Capital I has backed Revcap’s acquisition of two shopping centres in Stockholm.

Pan-European investor Revcap bought the two neighbourhood centres, called Orminge Centrum and Rotebro Handel from listed property company Atrium Ljungberg in a deal which closed this week.

The sale price has not been disclosed but Atrium Ljungberg said the two retail assets, plus two others sold at the same time to Finnish pension fund Keva, Igor 8 and Månadsmötet 9, had a combined value of SEK 1,280 million (€139 million). The rental income from the two schemes sold to Revcap is SEK 55 million (€5.9m).

The Leimdörfer Real Estate Capital I fund typically makes senior loans for terms of six to eight years at loan to values of 60-70 per cent. The longer term and slightly higher leverage is a part of its proposition to distinguish itself from banks and to make loans at margins at or above 200 basis points.

The loan to Revcap is a seven-year term facility.

Louise Richnau, chief executive officer at the fund’s manager Leimdörfer Real Estate Capital Advisory, said: “We are delighted to have supported Revcap to secure these two retail assets. We established the first real estate debt fund in the Nordics because we knew there was significant appetite among investors for an alternative to traditional bank lending.”

The fund launched in 2013 and held a final close last March. Its loans range in size from SEK 100-400 million (c€10 million- €45 million) with recent deals at the larger end; it is the only debt fund focused on the asset class in the Nordics.

Although it still has capital to invest, it is likely to raise a follow on fund soon. Its investors are Nordic institutions seeking stable mortgage-based returns and diversification at a time when domestic rates are at an all-time low. The Swedish Three-Month Interbank Rate decreased to -0.35% this week.

Leimdörfer Real Estate Capital is part of Brunswick Real Estate, an adviser, lender and investor in the Nordics with offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen and London.

Revcap’s portfolio includes around 250 assets, worth approximately £4.7bn.