Prudential Mortgage Capital provides $73 million in financing for Hines’ purchase of London office building

LONDON--()--Prudential Mortgage Capital Company has provided $73 million in financing for Hines Global REIT’s recent purchase of One Westferry Circus, a Canary Wharf office property. Prudential Mortgage Capital Company is the commercial mortgage lending business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

The loan is secured by One Westferry Circus, an eight-story, 219,000 square-foot mid-rise office property in Canary Wharf built in 1992 by Olympia & York.

“Increasingly, we are seeing companies from a diverse range of industries exploring Canary Wharf as a viable location due to its low occupancy cost compared to other established office markets and the area’s improving infrastructure and access,” said Drew Abernethy, head of European originations for Prudential Mortgage Capital Company. “The relative value of Canary Wharf, combined with the strength and experience of Hines and the quality of this property, formed a compelling transaction.”

“Prudential has tailored this seven-year loan to meet our needs,” said Ian Brown of Hines UK. “It extends beyond several lease events and allows us to focus on our property strategy without the complication of maturing debt.”

David Gingell, who focuses on European debt originations for Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, said, “This loan allowed us to demonstrate how efficient Prudential’s process can be, progressing from term sheet to funding in only 12 business days. As they do in the US and in Japan, we think that borrowers in Europe will come to value Prudential Mortgage Capital for transactions where both timing and flexibility are key.”

In 2013, Prudential Mortgage Capital Company has up to $1.3 billion (€1 billion, £850 million) available for long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe, with the potential to do significantly more than this. The European program offers similar loan structures to those offered in the US, and as in the US, the company has the ability to fund individual transactions of significant size. All European debt will be denominated in local currency and secured by income-producing real estate. Prudential Mortgage Capital is primarily interested in office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties in and around large population centers such as London, the major cities in Germany, Paris and the Netherlands. The firm also seeks opportunities to finance transactions in collaboration with local banks, especially on the European continent.

Hines is a privately-owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,208 properties representing more than 488 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 104 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.8 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

In the UK, Hines has advised on over two million square feet of projects acquired, completed or in the pipeline, with a total value in excess of £1 billion. The company’s growing London portfolio of assets under management includes city offices Cannon Place, Broadgate West and One Bartholomew Lane; Dockland’s One Westferry Circus, and Midtown’s 280 High Holborn and Stonecutter Court. Outside the capital, Hines is asset manager at Brindleyplace in Birmingham and is developing the 120,000 sq ft Two Snowhill office building in partnership with Ballymore. The company recently made its debut in Manchester, signing a joint venture agreement with Manchester & Metropolitan Properties to develop Landmark, a 178,000 square-foot office building in the city center.

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company is a national full-service, commercial and multifamily mortgage finance business with more than $76.3 billion in assets under management and administration as of March 31, 2013.

Leveraging a 135-year history of real estate finance, the company offers one of the most comprehensive lines of real estate finance products and originates loans for Fannie Mae DUS®, Freddie Mac Program Plus® and specialized affordable housing programs; FHA; Conduit; Prudential’s general account and proprietary balance sheet program; and other institutional investors. The company maintains a loan servicing portfolio of approximately $71.7 billion, as of March 31, 2013. For more information, please visit http://www.prumortgagecapital.com.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $1.061 trillion of assets under management as of March 31, 2013, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.

Contacts

Prudential Financial, Inc.
John Chartier, 973-802-9829
john.chartier@prudential.com

Contacts

Prudential Financial, Inc.
John Chartier, 973-802-9829
john.chartier@prudential.com