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U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley has financed Strategic Value Partners' circa €560M acquisition of Blanchardstown Centre in Dublin, Ireland’s biggest mall, with a loan of about €400M, CoStar reported.
Despite attracting 16 million people annually and with a catchment of 1.9 million people, the third sale of Blanchardstown Centre in around eight years has seen its value fall by nearly €400M.
In 2016, Blackstone paid €950M for Blanchardstown Centre from Stephen Vernon’s Green Property, making it the most valuable sale of a single property in the state's history.
By August 2020, Blackstone was reportedly prepared to surrender control if a debt deal with its lenders could not be reached following the impact of the pandemic.
In late 2020, it had sold to Goldman Sachs for around €750M in a deal believed to have been financed with €250M of equity, with the balance a mix of senior debt and mezzanine financing provided by a lending syndicate that reportedly included Morgan Stanley, AIG, Allied Irish Banks and Goldman Sachs.
However, AIB agreed to sell its debt slice to London-based Hayfin Capital Management at around 83 cents on the euro, representing a nearly €30M markdown on its €175M loan.
The proposed disposal of Blanchardstown was understood originally to have had a guide price of €650M to €725M when it first came to market last summer, with Eastdil Secured and CBRE handling the sale.
The 1.1M SF Blanchardstown Centre consists of more than 180 shops. It is anchored by retailers such as Dunnes Stores, Penneys, Aldi, Hollister, Mango, Marks & Spencer, a nine-screen Odeon cinema, two external retail parks, external retail units and eBay's headquarters.
SVP said it plans to make significant investments in Blanchardstown Centre, including enhancements to its food and beverage offer. It will work closely with Fingal County Council, existing tenants and Falcon Asset Management to elevate the centre’s appeal and strengthen its position as a premier retail destination for visitors and tenants, it said.
“As a centrepiece in Dublin’s retail sector, we’re excited by the opportunities Blanchardstown Centre presents,” SVP Global Head of Real Estate Mike Ungari said in a statement. “Our goal is to build on the facility’s strengths, and we are committed to ensuring Blanchardstown continues to set the benchmark for retail and leisure excellence in the region.”
In 2023, SVP became the largest investor in Intu SGS, a portfolio of four large UK shopping centres, and played a lead role in its restructuring earlier this year.
The acquisition of Blanchardstown is expected to be completed before year-end, subject to regulatory approvals.
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