Apsys announces it has refinanced the Centrum Posnania retail asset with a 10-years maturity, EUR 300 million senior loan from Allianz - completed by Allianz Real Estate on behalf of several Allianz companies - and that it now owns 100% of the 100,000 sqm iconic property in Poznan, Poland.
Posnania has become, in less than three years since it opened in October 2016, a supra regional retail and lifestyle destination for one of the wealthiest voivodships in Poland, welcoming now 12.5 million visitors a year. The asset has been continuously outperforming initial expectations, recording an exceptional yearly growth in turnover since opening. For the first nine months of 2019, its turnover increased approximately 17%, while its footfall increased by around 10%. Posnania was also chosen by International Shopping Center Council (“ICSC”) as a best very large shopping center in Europe in 2018. Apsys, which is the developer, property, leasing and asset manager of Posnania, remains confident in the future growth potential of this iconic asset. Through these transactions, Apsys is optimizing the financial structure and financing costs of this major asset owned for the long-term.
Maurice Bansay, Founding President of Apsys, commented: “The achievement of this EUR 300 million refinancing with Allianz Real Estate is a very valuable recognition of the prime quality as well as the leading strategic position of Posnania in its region.” Fabrice Bansay, Apsys CEO added: “It also gives Apsys’ confidence to continue develop its pipeline of iconic projects and recognizes the operating performance of Apsys team in Poland. In this country, Apsys is the leading property manager with 23 shopping centers managed, and has a development pipeline of 120 000 sqm, including a mixed-use project in a large regional city and a residential project in Warsaw.”
Roland Fuchs, Head of European Real Estate Finance at Allianz Real Estate, commented: “We are pleased to have originated and executed this large senior lending opportunity of a well-performing prime asset in Europe which benefits from strong local market fundamentals. We are convinced that this retail asset will remain the leader in its region and generate solid future cash flows for Allianz. With this transaction the senior debt fund managed by Allianz Real Estate and driven by our focus on prime assets in solid locations is approaching an investment volume of EUR 2 billion.”
Dentons (Poland), Gide Loyrette Nouel (Paris) and Clifford Chance (Luxembourg) acted as Apsys’ legal advisors in the acquisition; Finae Advisors acted as Apsys’ financing consultants and Dentons (Poland) acted as Apsys’ legal advisor in the refinancing; CMS acted as legal advisor to Allianz real Estate.