Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. has closed a $108 million commercial real estate loan in the U.K., the company's first European-based financing since the opening of its London advisory office in January.
According to the company, the loan is secured by a portfolio of U.K. properties consisting of four multi-tenanted office properties in central London and a grocery-anchored retail property in the historic town of Bath. The portfolio's sponsor, the O&H Group, is a family-run business with real estate holdings and development projects in central London and throughout the U.K.
The 11-year financing marks the company's first secured commercial real estate debt transaction in Europe. Prudential Mortgage Capital, which is the commercial mortgage lending business of Prudential Financial Inc., is targeting $500 million of long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe this year.
‘The diversification we can achieve by investing a portion of our portfolio outside of the U.S., whether it's Europe, Japan or Mexico, is very valuable,’ says Thor Orndahl, managing director in charge of Prudential Mortgage Capital's non-U.S. mortgage platform. ‘The current market dislocation has provided the opening we have been looking for, and our plan is to be active in Europe for many years to come.’
