pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank have jointly underwritten an investment facility, totalling €163.6 million, to refinance Karolinka, Pogoria and Platan Shopping Centres in Poland. The assets are owned by Rockcastle Global Real Estate Company Limited. The transaction closed in September 2016. pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Helaba and ING Bank are acting as Joint Lead Arrangers providing equal portions of the funding, with pbb acting as facility and security agent of the transaction.
The shopping centre portfolio is located in the Silesian region. Each centre is anchored by an Auchan hypermarket and the tenants include numerous international fashion brands. Karolinka Shopping Centre in Opole with a total lettable area of approx. 70,000 sqm is the dominant mall in the region Pogoria Shopping Centre is a modern urban centre located in Dabrowa Gornicza and has a total lettable area of approx. 36,000 sqm. Both assets were built in 2007. Platan Shopping Centre is centrally located in the town of Zabrze. It opened in 2003 and provides more than 25,000 sqm of lettable area.
Nick Matulovich, Chief Financial Officer at Rockcastle said: “Rockcastle’s ability to partner with banks of this calibre is testament to the quality of our portfolio. This transaction further supports Rockcastle’s strategy of becoming a dominant retail investor in CEE. It has provided Rockcastle with not only the opportunity to further strengthen its strategic relationship with ING but also cultivate new partnerships with pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Helaba. This deal provides a powerful platform from which to approach future financings with market-leading partners.”
Charles Balch, Head of International Clients, UK & CEE at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, said: “We are pleased to have worked with our partners Helaba and ING Bank to support the financing of this shopping centre portfolio in Poland. This is the first transaction we have been able to complete with Rockcastle and we would be happy to support them in Poland and other CEE markets.”
Michael Kroeger, Head of International Real Estate at Helaba, added: “We are happy to support Rockcastle with this transaction, which is another evidence for further growing interest of international investors in the Polish market. Helaba is active in the region since more than 10 years and has underwritten loans of several billion euros since then.”
Włodek Skonieczny, Head of Real Estate Finance Poland at ING Bank commented: “Over the past 2 years, Rockcastle has become one of the most active and important players on Polish RE market. We are proud to have financed Rockcatle’s very first investment in Poland. Now, Rockcastle has again appreciated ING as reliable financing partner, this time in the partnership with other renowned names on the market – Helaba and pbb. We are proud that together with our partners we could further contribute to development of Rockcastle retail platform in Poland and CEE.”
