ING Bank Offices in The Hague Acquired by Evans Randall

Europe Real Estate - March 29, 2006

HSH Nordbank has financed the acquisition of the landmark office property Haagse Poort in The Hague on behalf of U.K. investment bank Evans Randall. The Bank has agreed to provide €180 million in long-term financing and €30 million in equity interim financing. The structure of the financing also includes derivatives for interest-rate hedging purposes.

The sale by KanAm to Evans Randall constitutes the largest transaction involving a single property on the Dutch market in 2006. The landmark building with nearly 68,000 sqm in space for lease on 18 storys is fully leased to ING Bank of the Netherlands on a long-term basis. This purchase marks the first investment by the London-based investment firm on the European continent.

The Bank carried out this off-market transaction within a few days, in collaboration with its Dutch advisers CBRE and Boekel de Nerée. The Netherlands remains in focus even though the number of attractive office properties has become very small and vacancy rates remain high. Initial net returns on offices are between 6 and 7% in the central locations of metropolitan areas. For very good locations and properties with good tenants and long-term leases, initial net returns of approx. 5.5 % to 5.8%. Sphere: Related Content