Investa

Investa Commercial Property Fund to repay $310m CMBS on maturity

Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF), Investa Property Group’s flagship wholesale unlisted commercial
office fund, has announced it will repay its AAA rated Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) Series 2007-1 in full, on the scheduled maturity date of 9 August 2010.

The ICPF issuance of $310m was one of the last major CMBS issuance before credits markets shut down due to the global financial crisis, with security provided by its premier portfolio of buildings.

Investa’s flagship wholesale fund owns interests in some of Australia’s leading commercial office assets including Deutsche Bank Place (126 Phillip Street, Sydney); Telstra’s Global Headquarters at 242 Exhibition Street, Melbourne and 400 George Street, Sydney.

ICPF fund manager Peter Menegazzo commented: “This move demonstrates the strength of security provided by the ICPF portfolio. We intend to repay our note holders back in full upon the scheduled maturity date, having refinanced with a senior debt facility provided by the ANZ Bank for a new three year term. This demonstrates the confidence our lenders have in the high quality portfolio.”

Bank finance with a three year term has been secured to ensure the fund met the scheduled maturity date.
Menegazzo continues: “We have not ruled out a future debt issuance to the capital markets, however at this time we intend on continuing our asset management focus to keep our occupancy levels high and delivering value across the portfolio until debt markets settle down.”

Menegazzo concludes: “We will continue to watch the debt capital markets with interest and hope to come back to that market in the next 12 months if markets are favourable.”