PGIM provides €325m loan for German retail portfolio

Global asset manager PGIM has secured a €325 mln senior loan to Centerscape, owned by Evergreen Investment Advisors. 

Jürgen Helm and Anton Bashtavy

This loan will refinance a portfolio of 85 grocery-anchored retail properties located throughout Germany. 
The loan, which combines fixed and floating interest rates, supports properties primarily located in densely populated areas of Germany, such as Rhein-Ruhr, Greater Berlin, Rhine-Main, Greater Munich, and Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg. 
The portfolio boasts a diverse tenant base, including major German grocery retailers.
Jürgen Helm, head of European Senior Debt Originations, commented: “Driven by strong occupier and consumer demand, grocery-anchored retail continues to be an attractive investment and lending sector in Germany and beyond. We are pleased to provide financing to Centerscape, whose experience and long-term investment horizon, together with the portfolio’s strong asset- and tenant mix, create a compelling opportunity for alternative lenders like PGIM.”
Anton Bashtavy, head of Corporate Finance Germany at Centerscape, added: “We are very pleased to partner with PGIM on this financing, which we see as a strong validation of Centerscape’s strategy to focus on high-quality, grocery-anchored properties in Germany. PGIM’s deep expertise in senior debt and its tailored approach to structuring solutions for experienced investors make it an ideal partner for us, and we are excited to begin a long-term cooperation.”
CenterScape was founded by Evergreen Investment Advisors in 2007 as a specialised grocery-anchored retail platform, and it has since expanded through organic single-asset acquisitions in Germany and M&A in Poland and Czechia. 
Evergreen makes long-term investments in specialist real estate operating companies. It manages a global permanent-life vehicle with over $17 bn (€15.7 bn) of real estate AUM invested in 10 wholly-owned companies and 3 joint ventures with specialist operators across the US, the UK, Continental Europe, Japan and Brazil.