Allianz Real Estate’s European debt program closes record 2021 with multiple flagship transactions in France

Allianz Real Estate closed the year with several transactions in one of its historic core markets, France, notably Paris. The company provided an acquisition facility for an office campus in Paris-Meudon and €95 million financing to the ICAWOOD fund for the acquisition and renovation of an office in Paris-Clichy. These loans were the largest European debt deal for Allianz Real Estate in 2021, in addition to the €466 million loan to a consortium of borrowers to refinance a prime retail portfolio, predominantly in Paris and Brussels. A €127 million green development Euro The French group Apsys received a loan to build a future-proof and state-of-the-art retail and lifestyle center in Grenoble.

A further commitment in Paris was added in early 2021 through a major facility to JP Morgan AM and Altarea Entreprise for the acquisition and redevelopment of seven office properties near Opéra Garnier.

Increasing transition and development financing as well as increasing ESG-enabled green loans was a conscious strategic decision by Allianz Real Estate to fund more future-oriented assets. In particular, this includes assets with a clear focus on sustainable operations and qualities such as superior user experience.

Qualifying green loans in 2021 included €161 million to Canary Wharf Group for the financing of 10 George Street in Canary Wharf, London – Allianz Real Estate’s first single-asset Private Rented Sector (PRS) debt transaction in Europe . Other transactions included the €300 million loan to Arminius Group for the acquisition of the Grand Campus in Frankfurt; and a £240m facility to BentallGreenOak to support the development of a build-to-core portfolio of eight world-class logistics assets in the UK.

The year was also marked by the successful increase in the third-party volume of the Luxembourg-based European loan fund PAREC of Allianz Real Estate. New inflows of third-party funds into the fund from BVK and another like-minded group of investors reached EUR 610 million for the year.

Roland Fuchs, Head of European Real Estate Finance at Allianz Real Estate, said: “2021 was our strongest year yet in terms of new lending and we expect one given the Company’s unprecedented positioning in Europe and across our 12 markets continued demand in 2022 our strong appetite for financing. The ongoing development of our Luxembourg debt fund also underscores the success of our client approach “Invest alongside Allianz”.

“Our disciplined focus on high-quality assets, borrowers and sponsors, as well as our best-in-class ESG approach, has enabled us to enhance our diversified, high-quality debt portfolio and deliver significant growth in 2021. We remain one of the few lenders capable of providing large scale financing ranging from €100m to over €500m to large borrowers and institutions across multiple sectors. Looking ahead, we expect ESG factors to continue to grow in importance and we are very well positioned to meet those market demands.”