Funds advised by European investment fund advisor, DRC Savills Investment Management LLP (DRC SIM), financed a portfolio of 21 supermarket assets owned by Blackbrook Capital (Blackbrook). Blackbrook were advised by the EMEA Cushman & Wakefield Debt and Structured Finance (C&W) team on the financing.
The portfolio is subject to long-term triple net leases to Eroski, the 4th largest grocery retailer by turnover in Spain, and the dominant operator in the Basque region of Northern Spain and the Balearic Islands (portfolio only located in these areas).
The supermarkets are located in urban locations with a captive consumer base from local neighbourhoods and support both convenience and local e-commerce distribution needs.
Commercial real estate debt investment platform, DRC SIM, provided the capital for this facility from its European Real Estate Senior Debt (ERESD) fund series. The ERESD funds provide Senior Finance (from €15m – €150m) across the UK and Western Europe up to 65% LTV.
DRC SIM were legally advised in the transaction by Paul Hastings LLP (UK) and Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira, S.L.P.(Spain). Commercial advice was provided by Mount Street Mortgage Servicing Limited, Jones Lang LaSalle, Situs Asset Management, and Watson Laurie.
C&W Debt and Structured Finance acted on behalf of Blackbrook in the debt arranging, linking them to DRC SIM and overseeing the financing process.
Jon Strang, Managing Director of Blackbrook, comments: “Spanish grocery retail remains a highly resilient and attractive sector, and we believe our Eroski assets are well positioned to support its growth potential and rising demand. The DRC SIM team stood out in their ability to deliver in a timely fashion in line with our requirements. We look forward to working with them in the future.”
Mark Gibbard, Principal at DRC SIM, says: “We are thrilled to have supported the Blackbrook team in financing this stable and strong performing portfolio. This deal underscores DRC SIM’s commitment to deployment of our Senior Debt strategy (ERESD) in high-performing real estate assets owned by high quality Sponsors, such as Blackbrook”
C&W Partner, Maarten de Jong, adds: “We would like to congratulate DRC SIM on financing this strong portfolio and are proud to be a part of such a transaction. DRC has proven their ability to act quickly and flexibly and this is undoubtedly the start of a fruitful relationship between two strong real estate players.”
