WITH A MORE diverse lender and borrower universe than ever in the European real estate market, debt advisory firms continue to win business by sourcing debt mandates on behalf of sponsors. The largest player in the advisory space is US ‘real estate investment bank’ Eastdil Secured.
“We have a straightforward business model,” explains Riaz Azadi, managing director in the firm’s London office. “Our client is always the owner of the real estate.”
That means handling the sale of property and then sourcing acquisition finance for the new owner. Alternatively, investors will hire Eastdil to arrange refinancings of existing holdings. Separately, owners of non-core real estate debt, including asset management agencies, will hire the firm to sell loan portfolios.
Eastdil globally will intermediate in a broad range of options for clients covering private and public markets, debt and equity for real estate investors. “It’s the full suite of investment banking services,” Azadi says.
“The ethos of the firm is being a trusted advisor and being agnostic as to what the best capital solution should be,” he continues.
Among last year’s stand-out deals, Eastdil advised P3 Logistics Parks on the €1.4 billion refinancing of its portfolio in October. In the same month, it advised Invesco Real Estate on the refinancing of its open-ended panEuropean fund, executing the €1 billion deal with Aareal and Allianz. Also in October, it sourced around €1 billion for TIAA’s Cityhold Office Partnership from ING and LBBW for its European holdings.
In the loan sales market, Eastdil handled two major deals for Ireland’s NAMA; the €1.5 billion Project Tolka loan sale to Colony Capital in December and the €3 billion Project Gem sale to Cerberus Capital Management in the same month.
