Aviva Investors provides £154 million refinancing to CLS Holdings

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), announces that it has provided CLS Holdings plc (‘CLS’) with a £154 million senior debt facility towards the refinancing of 12 UK assets.

twenty office building

The financing, which is provided over 10 and 12-year fixed-rate tranches, is being made on behalf of a combination of the Aviva UK Life Annuity business and third-party client mandates.

Located across London and the South East of England, the portfolio consists of 11 office assets alongside a mixed-use scheme in Vauxhall, including hotel and student accommodation assets. The assets are let to a broad mix of tenants with income well diversified across the portfolio and carry a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of 5.2 years. 

The facility is structured to include KPIs that are linked to sustainability targets, and which have been independently reviewed to provide assurance that they are aligned with LMA sustainability-linked loan principles. A margin reduction of up to 10 basis points is available dependent on CLS delivering specific targets which will be assessed annually throughout the life of the facility.

Gregor Bamert, Head of Real Estate Debt at Aviva Investors, said:

“We are delighted to support CLS and the strong emphasis it places on the provision of a sustainable portfolio. This transaction builds on our experience of incentivising borrowers to bring the green credentials of their portfolios into sharper focus, and we are pleased to have received independent assurance that the facility is aligned with LMA sustainability linked loan principles. The wide range of investment capital used within the facility further underlines our ability to tailor debt solutions for borrowers whilst delivering strong opportunities for our investor clients.”

Ashish Dafria, Chief Investment Officer, Aviva UK Life, said

“We are very pleased to be working alongside Aviva Investors and their external clients on this new financing. The sustainability elements of the facility are particularly attractive, allowing us to work towards reducing the environmental impact of our annuity investment portfolio.”

Andrew Kirkman, Chief Financial Officer of CLS, commented:

“We are pleased to have secured this £154m loan with such a well-established real estate funder as Aviva Investors.  This loan increases our weighted average loan maturity by nearly 50% to 4.5 years. Moreover, we are delighted that the loan recognises our sustainability progress and incentivises our future target delivery as well as aligning our sustainability commitment to that of Aviva Investors.”

Need more information?

Contact the real estate finance team for loans of £5m or more.

For more information contact:

James Morgan

Media Relations Manager

Steve Ainger

Head of Media Relations

Important Information:

The information and opinions contained in this document are for use by the financial press and media only. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information or opinions contained in this document nor should they be seen as advice. 

The press release is provided on the basis that Aviva Investors Global Services Limited is not causing the communication of a financial promotion under exemption of the Financial Promotion Order, as Aviva Investors Global Services Limited has no control over the way in which an article based on this press release is prepared and published by the financial press and media. 

Except where stated as otherwise, the source of all information is Aviva Investors Global Services Limited (“Aviva Investors”) as at 18 January 2021. Unless stated otherwise any views, opinions expressed are those of Aviva Investors. They should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from an investment managed by Aviva Investors nor as advice of any nature.  The value of an investment and any income from it may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested. 

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Aviva Investors

Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva plc. The business delivers investment management solutions, services and client-driven performance to clients worldwide. Aviva Investors operates in 14 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the United Kingdom with assets under management of £346 billion in assets as at 30 June 2019.

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