The property sector is relying more on bank financing than bonds at present and this trend is likely to continue across Europe, concluded speakers in the dealmakers panel of SEE Property Forum 2022, held in Bucharest.

Macquarie Capital Principal Finance (Macquarie) has provided €123.4 million in the form of a senior secured loan to DL Invest Group. The three-year facility will be funded using capital from Macquarie’s balance sheet. 

Although financing has become more expensive for real estate companies in the past 12 months, transactions are still being carried out, pointed out speakers in the financing strategies panel of CEE Property Forum 2022 in Vienna.

High inflation and rising interest rates pose a threat to the upturn in the economy which many expected following the pandemic. Dieter Knittel, Managing Director, Head of CEE at Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG (pbb) talked to Property Forum about financing trends and shared his expectations for the upcoming period.

Helaba is providing long-term financing for Czech project developer Crestyl for the revitalisation of the well-known NR7 office building in a prime downtown location in Prague.

7R has obtained financing for expanding the modern logistics complex 7R Park Lublin. The loan agreement has been signed with a syndicate of banks – Santander Bank Polska and mBank. Ultimately, the park will consist of five buildings with a total GLA of nearly 110,000 sqm. Bremer is the General Contractor of the project responsible for the work.

Monia Dobrescu, Partner, Mușat & Asociații spoke to Property Forum about the financing environment for the real estate sector in the context of the crisis in Ukraine and the law firm’s development plans for this year. The uniform application of the regulatory acts in the field is an issue that has an impact on players in the real estate market, and progress is being made in this area, Monia adds.

To be a small and dynamic company, which makes decisions quickly based on consensus and its own analysis and reasoning. These are the secrets to being the most active investor in Prague even in the past two difficult years, according to Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN’s) new CEO, Karel Bor, who talked to Property Forum about the company’s investment strategy.

Banks are happy to finance practically any new logistics project. But they are extremely cautious with the office and retail segments, not to mention hotel investments. Property Forum asked Tamás Deák, Director of Commercial Real Estate Finance at Erste Bank Hungary Zrt. about their financing practices amid the new, harsh economic conditions.

Despite the turbulent economic situation, banks are readily lending money to the commercial real estate segment, with warehouses being their top choice. The industrial investor Accolade is one of the most willingly financed warehouse portfolio holders in Poland. The company benefits from over €500 million in bank loans, 40% of which has been acquired since February 2020. At the same time, in the Czech Republic, the company has signed a loan agreement with a club of banks for €137.5 million. It is the largest ever loan provided for a single industrial rental property in the CEE region.