Wiesbaden,1 December 2011 – Aareal Bank has provided a loan of 300m € to refinance a logistics property portfolio. The portfolio comprises 34 logistics properties in Germany and Poland with a total lettable area of over one million square metres. The properties belong to the Goodman European Logistics Fund (GELF). The Goodman Group is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, ASX, and is one of the biggest owners, managers and developers of logistics properties in the world. In this deal, Aareal Bank acted as Lead Arranger and Senior Lender.
Of the 34 properties, 27 are in Germany and 7 in Poland. They are all fully-let and feature high quality standards. Additionally, they all benefit from strategic and diversified locations within the countries and are let to top-class tenants.
“The logistics sector is closely tied to the development of global trade flows, and hence strongly benefits from globalisation. Strategic logistics hubs remain attractive in the long-term”, explains Christof Winkelmann, Managing Director Special Property Finance at Aareal Bank. The Logistics Performance Index (LPI), published by the World Bank every 2 years assesses the attractiveness of more than 150 countries as logistics locations. The most recent LPI placed both Germany and Poland in the group of the most attractive countries. In fact, Germany is in first place. Winkelmann concluded: “We are thus very happy to be cooperating with a logistics specialist of such a global standing as Goodman Group, especially at these locations."
“We are pleased to add a leading bank like Aareal Bank as an important banking partner for the Goodman platform. The agreed finance package underpins the quality of the European portfolio”, adds Danny Peeters, Goodman Group Continental Europe CEO.
