Pricoa completes first German lending deal

Pricoa Mortgage Capital has completed its first deal in Germany.

The commercial mortgage lending arm of Prudential Finance has provided Hines Global REIT with a €36m facility to purchase a 56,500 sq m logistics property in Forchheim near Nuremburg. The building is fully let to third party logistics provider Simon Hegele. Around 20,000 sq m of space is currently under construction.

The fixed rate loan is thought to be priced below 200 basis points and is split into two tranches, the second of which will be drawn on completion of the warehouse.

The deal follows Pricoa providing Hines with a £48m, seven-year loan to finance its purchase of 1 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf in May last year as well as financing its £223m purchase of 25 Cabot Square in April this year.

Pricoa has up to €1bn available for long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe in 2014 “with the ability to do significantly more than this”, according to the company.  The lender is primarily interested in income-producing office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties. It is also seeking opportunities to finance transactions in collaboration with local banks, especially on the European continent.

David Gingell, a director of originations at Pricoa said: “Logistics is a preferred asset type of ours and the strong demand drivers for this property’s location, combined with the track record of Hines’ sponsorship, drove our interest here.”

Drew Abernethy (pictured), head of European originations at Pricoa, said: “This transaction marks Pricoa Mortgage Capital’s third European financing with Hines Global REIT, demonstrating our increasing ability to respond to client requirements across multiple markets.”