Expanded LRF programme extends development loan for student accommodation in Granada

LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”), the global real estate investment manager, today announces that it has extended its first development loan of €20.5 million from the expanded LaSalle Residential Finance Europe programme (“LRF”) to Amro Real Estate Partners. The development is a 360-bed purpose-built student accommodation in Granada and the proposed scheme will be approx. 10,495sqm across two buildings. In addition, the scheme will provide desirable and high-quality amenities such as a swimming pool, a multi-sport court, cinema room and study library.

The loan has been extended from LRF following on from its recent expansion into Continental Europe. Together with additional capital raised, it increases the total size of the LRF programme (established in 2013) to £845 million. LRF provides stretch senior and higher-leverage financing solutions for developments at loan-to-cost ratios of up to 80 per cent, with loans ranging from €20 million to in excess of €100 million. The expansion into Continental Europe will provide loans primarily for the development of student accommodation. This is in addition to LRF’s current development lending activities in student housing, residential, hotel and healthcare development lending throughout the UK.

LaSalle’s Debt & Special Situations business provides its borrowers a wide range of financing solutions by actively investing through its four strategies: LREDS III, LRF III, LWLS I/II and Special Sits. These debt products include whole loans, mezzanine, development financing, stretched senior loans, preferred / joint venture equity in the UK and Western Europe. The LRF programme is complementary to LaSalle’s LREDS series; the third fund in this series closed at the end of 2017 with aggregate commitments of £804 million. LREDS III invests across Western Europe, lending against quality assets with best-in-class sponsors; the combination of which offers compelling risk adjusted returns across mezzanine and whole loan investment opportunities. LWLS I/II, with EUR600m of commitments, invests in whole loans across Western Europe.

The team has previously invested over £400m in student accommodation lending across its strategies. Highlights include:

• €100 million+ acquisition and development facility for a portfolio of six student accommodation assets in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain.
• €17 million development facility for a new 400+ bed student accommodation asset in Seville, Spain.

LaSalle has been very active in the Spanish market where Spanish banks have been constrained with their lending and LaSalle has extensive knowledge of student housing as an asset class. As a result, the LRF programme, which offers stretch senior loans up to 80% LTC, provides an accretive solution for developers.

Amy Klein Aznar, Head of Debt Investments & Special Situations at LaSalle Investment Management said: “We are very happy to be expanding the LRF programme to Continental Europe given the programme’s success in the UK. The loan that we have extended in Granada is an excellent example of the type of student housing development that we find compelling and which meets the needs of students today. Over the past several years, our team has invested more than £400m in student housing and this remains a core sector for our debt investment activities. The team has already completed other student housing development and investment facilities in Continental Europe and we continue to see strong borrower demand. The new commitment to Continental Europe will allow the LRF programme to consolidate its position as a European market leader in debt investment for bed-based sectors like student accommodation and residential.”

LaSalle’s Debt and Special Situations team has a strong track record of developing strategic relationships with best-in-class borrowers and has significant experience across various sectors, geographies, deal sizes, and capital structures. Since 2010, the team has committed £3.4 billion of investments in over 67 individual transactions and secured against £13 billion of real estate.

About LaSalle Investment Management 

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. On a global basis, we manage approximately $77 billion of assets in private equity, debt and public real estate investments as of Q4 2021. The firm sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including open- and closed-end funds, separate accounts and indirect investments. Our diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com and LinkedIn.

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