Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS) has provided a 鈧�320m loan to MARK Capital Management to refinance a mixed-use retail and office portfolio in Oslo, marking Blackstone鈥檚 debut real estate debt financing in Norway.
The five-year loan will refinance the 12 properties in Oslo, acquired in 2016 by a MARK fund in a joint venture with an undisclosed Middle Eastern institutional investor. The properties are managed by Promenaden, a subsidiary of the MARK-advised fund.
Among the properties are the Steen & Str酶m department store and the Eger Quarter shopping gallery. Most of the portfolio is situated on Nedre Slottsgate.
Marcus Meijer, CEO of MARK Capital Management, said: 鈥淭he Promenaden portfolio represents Europe鈥檚 most concentrated set of luxury retail and grade-A office properties 鈥� effectively a compressed alternative to Bond Street in London or Via Monte Napoleone in Milan 鈥� and is Norway鈥檚 most prestigious high-end retail destination, located in the very heart of Oslo鈥檚 central business district.
鈥淭hese qualities have drawn the attention of major international investors, as the refinancing from Blackstone demonstrates.鈥�
Annette Lund, CEO of Promenaden, said: 鈥淚n partnership with MARK Capital Management, we have helped reposition the portfolio to attract nine of the top ten luxury brands globally.
鈥淥ur joint asset management initiatives, underpinned by a disciplined capex programme, have already generated significant value for our capital partners, and there remains further untapped potential that we will seek to unlock over the loan term.鈥�
Stefano Tomaselli, managing director at BREDS, said: 鈥淲e are pleased to finance this high-quality portfolio for MARK and its partners. This transaction is a great example of BREDS鈥� ability to provide large financing solutions with both speed and certainty of execution.鈥�
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