Noerr advises mixed consortium on €600 million financing for “Mall of Berlin” (Leipziger Platz Quartier)

The law firm Noerr has successfully overseen one of this year’s largest real-estate financing packages: a mixed consortium of banks – Deutsche Hypothekenbank and BNP Paribas REIM Germany – as well as Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) will jointly fund the project in the Leipziger Platz Quartier of Berlin. The 10-year financing volume totals €600 million.

A Noerr team led by the Frankfurt finance partner Andreas Naujoks provided comprehensive advice to both Deutsche Hypothekenbank and BVK. Aside from its finance-law aspects, the matter notably included advice on supervisory, corporate, tax and real-estate law. One of the particular challenges of this complex financing package was to meet the various demands and comply with the statutory regulations of the mixed consortium of banks and insurance companies.

Deutsche Hypo is the consortium leader and agent of the transaction. Of the total lendings, BVK is providing €450 million, Deutsche Hypo €80 million and the two credit funds of BNP Paribas REIM Germany €70 million, making this one of the largest real-estate financing transactions involving non-banks to have ever been concluded in Germany and one of the largest amounts of financing by an institutional investor in Germany. Shareholders of the Leipziger Platz Quartier is a joint venture between High Gain House Investments/Berlin (HGHI) and Arab Investments/London (AIL). With this transaction they have successfully concluded the long-term end financing for the largest inner-city shopping centre project in Europe.

The shopping centre “Mall of Berlin”, which will cover roughly 80,000 square metres of retail space and have more than 270 retail and restaurant businesses, is expected to open its doors to customers on 25 September 2014. In addition to the retail space, 30,000 square metres of residential housing are planned in the Leipziger Platz Quartier.

Noerr with its interdisciplinary Real Estate Investment Group (REIG) is one of the leading advisors on transactions and financing in the real-estate sector. Bayerische Versorgungskammer regularly relies on Noerr for its real-estate financing advice. Interdisciplinary teams led by the Frankfurt financing partner Andreas Naujoks previously advised BVK in connection with a consortium loan to finance the acquisition of the Düsseldorf “Stadttor” by Hannover Leasing and on the refinancing of “Tower 185” by the CA Immo Gruppe.

Advisor to Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) and Deutsche Hypothekenbank: Noerr LLP

Andreas Naujoks (leader, Financing/REIG, Frankfurt), Christoph Brenzinger (Real Estate/REIG, Düsseldorf), Dr Florian Ehrich (Real Estate/REIG, Berlin), Dr Michaela Engel (Tax/REIG, Munich), Dr Jens H. Kunz (Supervisory law, Frankfurt), Dr Dirk Lentfer (Berlin), Dr Stefan Weise, Marco Winterer (both Munich), David Zafra Carollo (Düsseldorf, all Real Estate/REIG)

Associates: Elisabeth Dworschak (Tax, Munich), Dr Karsten Fink (Financing/REIG, Frankfurt), Dr Jan Christoph Funcke, Marcel Messerschmidt (both Real Estate/REIG, Berlin), Dr. Julia Schlüter-Shah (Financing, Frankfurt),  Dr Clemens Schönemann (Real Estate/REIG, Berlin), Dr Maximilian Schulte (Real Estate/REIG, Düsseldorf), Dr Ivan Zlatanov (Financing, Frankfurt)