Allianz, ING write €160m loan for Czech logistics

Industrial developer CTP Group has sourced a €160 million loan to refinance a logistics portfolio in the Czech Republic.

The seven-year loan has been provided by Allianz Real Estate and ING Bank, with the former putting forward €100 million and the latter taking a share of €60 million. The financing is understood to reflect a loan-to-value of 60-65 percent, with pricing in the range of 150-200bps.

The debt package will be used to refinance existing loans from ING, Česká spořitelna and VUB Banka; and to finance projects which have been completed in 2017, CTP said. It noted the refinancing deal is part of the firm’s ongoing strategy to extend its network of financing partners, including lenders outside the central and eastern Europe region.

CTP’s refinanced portfolio comprises 22 warehouses and light industry properties, with around 325,500 square meters across the Czech Republic.

Arie Hubers, managing director of ING Real Estate Finance, said the transaction shows the bank‘s commitment to the CEE region, where it has intensified its real estate banking activity.

Allianz, for its part, said the new debt financing is a step further to diversifying its European debt portfolio not only geographically, but also by asset class.

“This is our first financing of logistics real estate in the Czech Republic,” said Roland Fuchs, head of European commercial real estate Finance at Allianz. “With this transaction, we both expand our footprint in CEE and increase the logistics share in our European portfolio, not only by indirect investments in logistics funds but also by debt transactions.”

The German insurer has central Europe on its lending radar, as it aims to write €2 billion of European real estate loans this year.

“Our next step in mind is to provide debt in central Europe, particularly in Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, mainly in offices or logistics,” Roland Fuchs, the head of European debt, told Real Estate Capital at this year’s EXPO Real in Munich.