Opinion

A €296m construction financing in the German capital, led by Deutsche Hypo, was among the week’s more eye-catching items.

Another major shed portfolio financing this week demonstrates real estate lenders’ sustained appetite for logistics exposure.

Oaktree’s substantial deployment of its latest property fund is not indicative of dealflow in the market overall, but rather that it is ahead of the pack.

Among the past week’s most noteworthy items, manager Oaktree emphasised the importance of credit-related deals to its new opportunity fund.

Among the key trends highlighted in the past 10 days, lenders to UK real estate are left to ponder their borrowers’ plight following an extension to the ban on tenant evictions.

Tony Guthrie, a property receiver with consultancy Gerald Eve, says lenders in the UK are unlikely to enforce loans during the extended eviction moratorium, but that they need to be ready for its end.

In a busy start to March, a UK leisure platform attracted £1.8bn of finance, banks re-upped on a London office tower loan and sponsors demanded speculative logistics debt.

Pandemic-induced uncertainty dented property financing activity last year. But the achievements of our awards winners demonstrate that many remained focused on credit matters.

Just as property debt providers have made progress incorporating environmental targets into loan deals, socially focused measures can also be part of their financings.

Understanding the various sub-sectors and how different tenants use their space is critical for debt providers as they underwrite properties in this in-demand sector.