West End landlord Shaftesbury goes shopping for £130m loan
WEST END property developer Shaftesbury yesterday secured a £130m loan with Aviva, wiping out a £100m debt that was due to expire next September.
The company, which owns huge swathes of London’s busiest shopping districts, including Carnaby Street and Covent Garden, said the new 15-year loan has a fixed rate of 3.2 per cent and will be repayable in March 2030.
It means Shaftesbury can cancel its £100m revolving credit facility with Nationwide. A second revolving facility, totalling £50m, will be refinanced “in due course”.
Shaftesbury’s finance director, Chris Ward, said: “We are pleased to have secured this financing during a period of extremely low gilt yields, and with a lender of the calibre of Aviva.
“Long-term funding is a natural fit with our business model and portfolio of good quality assets with secure income streams,” he added.