Hannes Wimmer, Executive Director, Loan Syndication at Erste Group Bank AG talked to Property Forum about the segments driving the property investment market and the funding focus of banks on sustainable projects. He reveals that compared to Western Europe, the CEE region is lagging a bit when it comes to financing sustainable projects, but big changes can be expected during the next 6 to 12 months.

The residential sector has proven its resilience during the pandemic and housing accounts for 69% (over €20 billion) of the loans granted to Romanians, according to a report by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). 

Murapol has restructured its existing debt and obtained a new loan from mBank and Bank Pekao in the amount of PLN 350 million. The developer is implementing a plan to rationalize the financing structure and to support the sustainable development of nationwide operations.

Wood & Company has obtained a loan of €229.5 million, one of the highest amounts in the Slovak real estate market, to refinance the debt of the Aupark shopping centre in Bratislava. The financing will be provided by several European banking groups, all of which have operated historically in Slovakia. 

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (pbb) and Helaba have jointly underwritten an investment facility, totalling €130 million to refinance “Dock In Office Park” (4 buildings) in Prague for Crestyl Group. pbb and Helaba are acting as joint lead arrangers providing equal portions of the funding. pbb also acted as facility and security agent of the transaction.

In early May, developer Mint Investments began preparatory works on the Metropolis residential project in the centre of Bratislava. Local lender Tatra banka has been selected by the company to provide a loan of €42 million for the construction of the project. The planned completion date of the project is Q4 2023.

Romania’s Vox Property Group says it secured €19.5 million in funding from CEC Bank that will be used to refinance other loans and to support ongoing projects in the country. 

Romanian Impact Developer & Contractor said it has secured two bank loans worth more than €13 million from Libra Bank to start new investments in the Greenfield residential project, located in northern Bucharest. 

Subsidiaries of Polish industrial developer MLP Group have secured a €73.4 million loan for financing its portfolio from a consortium of BNP Paribas Bank Polska and PKO Bank Polski.

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has provided an investment loan facility totalling €115 million to a fund managed by the Real Estate Group of Ares Management Corporation (Ares), which will utilise the proceeds for the acquisition financing of a logistics portfolio in Poland. pbb acted as arranger and sole lender under the facility.