GE buys $3b portfolio of UK commercial property loans

Real Estate Weekly,  Dec 5, 2007  

Tags: General Electric Co.

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GE Real Estate announced that it has acquired a high-quality portfolio of approximately 2 billion [pounds sterling] (approximately $3 billion) of performing commercial property loans from Bradford & Bingley PLC. The acquisition of this portfolio enables GE Real Estate to deploy its long-established skills in managing large portfolios of performing loans.

With the backing of GE's AAA-rated corporate balance sheet and substantial management expertise across its global real estate operations, GE Real Estate's management team remains strongly placed to identify and structure large transactions where it sees an opportunity even in periods of market uncertainty.

The portfolio comprises loans to a group of over 100 borrowers, many of which are well known names in the property industry.

Following this transaction, GE Real Estate's investments in Europe will total over $20 billion. Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Rowan, managing director of GE Real Estate UK, said: "GE Real Estate has a long history of debt transactions and we are pleased to be taking part in this sector again on a meaningful seale.

Through our proactive acquisition strategy, we ate confident that we can add significant value to our UK business in these more challenging times.

The successful execution of this significant acquisition at the right price and on the right terms is a strong endorsement of our ability to complete large and complex transactions where we have identified an opportunity, regardless of market conditions.

"We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Bradford & Bingley's professional management team and to have been given the opportunity to acquire this high-quality portfolio."

COPYRIGHT 2007 Hagedorn Publication
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