Rotch to Refinance Pounds 300 Million Office Portfolio Leased to British Telecom

Commercial Mortgage Alert reports that Rotch Property will tap the commercial MBS market to refinance a 788,000-square-foot portfolio of office properties in the U.K. ABN Amro and UBS will co-lead the 300 million pound ($510 million) offering. The five office properties that serve as collateral are leased to British Telecommunications through 2031.

Rotch, a London firm, bought the portfolio last year from a joint venture between Land Securities Trillium and William Pears Group. The Land Securities partnership bought the properties in 2001 along with a huge portfolio from British Telecom, which leased them for 30 years. Rotch will use the proceeds of the lease-backed transaction to retire a maturing one-year acquisition loan from an unidentified London bank. The term of the bonds will match the remaining term on the leases to British Telecom, which is rated Baal/A3 by Moody's and S&P. Rotch is eager to arrange long-term financing in order to capitalize on the prevailing low interest rates. Two of the properties are located just outside London, while the others are in Glasgow, Belfast and Edinburgh. Sphere: Related Content