Leumi UK backs Polish residential market with €50 million loan for 750-unit, 26,000 sq m portfolio
Posted: 16th January 2024 | Share
Specialist lender Leumi UK has agreed to lend €50 million (£43 million) to AFI Home, a subsidiary of listed real estate investor AFI Properties. The loan is secured by a PRS portfolio of five residential developments across Poland.
The portfolio consists of 746 privately rented apartments totaling almost 26,000 sqm and c- 2,000 sqm of retail GLA located in Warsaw and Krakow.
One asset is already fully let with the remaining completed assets expected to be fully occupied within the next six months.
The loan was agreed on a five-year term and will be drawn upon practical completion of each asset, a milestone that four out of five assets have reached.
Yair Grimberg, relationship director at Leumi UK, said: “At Leumi UK, we’ve always emphasised the benefits of long-term relationships, and this latest agreement with AFI Properties comes after more than ten years of fruitful collaboration. It’s a testament to the team’s ability to navigate complex challenges of legal differences when executing transactions in alternative asset classes in high-growth European markets.”
Anat Dafna, CFO at AFI Properties, said: “The Polish residential sector is comparatively small compared to more mature European markets, but has been growing at an exceptional pace in recent years. The financing from Leumi UK has been instrumental in securing what we believe to be a secure long-term income-generating portfolio in the country. We are extremely pleased with our close cooperation with Leumi across the border and we are looking forward to evolving our long-standing relationship with Leumi UK as we explore more investment opportunities.”