The industrial/logistics asset class is presently the most attractive for a majority of banks in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) following the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to results from the latest edition of KPMG’s Property Lending Barometer (PLB), an annual study by the global audit and advisory firm that attempts to measure banks’ lending sentiments in Europe’s property markets. That preference lies in contrast to where most bank finance in Europe has typically landed prior to COVID: the office segment.

Experts of the international investors’ panel at SEE Property Forum 2020, a hybrid event organised by Property Forum and RICS, agreed that Romania’s property investment market has matured a lot in recent years but the lack of liquidity is still an issue. They also confirmed that COVID-19 makes it difficult to forecast the future direction of the market and it makes certain market players, especially banks, more cautious.

CA Immo successfully placed a €350 million fixed rate senior unsecured green bond with a 5-year maturity and an annual coupon of 1.0%. The issuance was oversubscribed more than 5.4 times at final terms with strong demand by more than 150 investors.

VÚB banka and UniCredit Bank have provided developer J&T Real Estate with a €105 million syndicated loan for the construction of Eurovea’s extended residential part, which will include approximately 500 apartments in Eurovea Tower - Slovakia’s very first skyscraper - and waterfront residences (Eurovea Riverside). This loan is one of the largest granted for a Slovak development project in recent years. Dentons prepared the contract documentation.

Immofinanz successfully placed €500 million fixed-rate senior unsecured notes with a 7-year maturity and a 2.50% fixed coupon on 8 October 2020. The net proceeds of the issue of the notes will be used to refinance existing debt, capitalize on value-creating growth opportunities, and for general corporate purposes. The issuance was oversubscribed around 2 times with strong demand by more than 110 investors.

CTP successfully issued a debut green bond for €650 million on 1 October 2020. CTP’s inaugural green bonds became the largest debut issuance by a CEE real estate company.  The bonds received a strong reception from investors and were several times oversubscribed with a peak order book in excess of €2 billion.

CTP Group recorded a profit of €99 million (more than CZK 2.5 billion) in the first half of 2020, while its Portfolio of Class A property under management grew to over 5.8 million sqm. During the first six months of the year, CTP Group added 268,926 sqm of lettable area to its portfolio, and plans to grow by additional 595,000 sqm by year-end. The pandemic has transformed the nature of demand, but rental incomes increased in the second quarter.

Trei Real Estate GmbH has taken out an unsecured loan in a volume of €42 million from the German bank Helaba. It involves an innovative financing structure that Trei employed in similar form for the first time when taking out a loan from the same lender in late 2019. The successful model includes corporate finance elements, on the one hand, and the characteristics of a mortgage loan, on the other hand. The loan has a four-year maturity. Trei intends to use the borrowed capital to finance its growth trajectory.

HB Reavis Group is launching the sale of a new bond issue through Slovenská sporiteľňa. Bonds with a nominal value of €1,000, a maturity of 4 years and a coupon of 3.35% pa are issued by HB REAVIS Finance SK VII sro, a subsidiary of the HB Reavis Group.

Cordia International, the residential development platform of Futureal Group has successfully managed its second bond issuance on the Budapest Stock Exchange to finance its further expansion, predominantly in CEE. The developer raised HUF 36 billion (€105 million) in its latest transaction which was heavily oversubscribed by financial institutions and achieved a 2.46% yield. Last November Cordia successfully placed a HUF 44 billion (€305 million) 7-year bond at 3.82% yield.