Starz Real Estate refinances WTC Ballerup for Kongeegen A/S

29. april 2019

Starz Real Estate has funded a €22,650,000 senior facility secured by the World Trade Center Ballerup (“WTC”) located in Greater Copenhagen, Denmark, arranged by Wittenborg Capital for the Sponsor, Kongeegen A/S. WTC Ballerup is a modern business center with lettable space of almost 18,000 sqm, 12 meeting rooms, an auditorium with capacity for 150, a restaurant, café, lounge, reception, fitness centre and healthcare centre with over 20 clinicians, practitioners and therapists.

Kongeegen was founded in 1977 as part of Brdr. Rønje Holding A/S. Since becoming independent in 2001, Kongeegen has invested in commercial and residential properties in Denmark (Copenhagen, Northern Zealand) and currently has a portfolio of nine properties and development projects, with approximately 46,000 sqm.

Kongeegen acquired the WTC Ballerup in 2011 when Siemens was the sole occupier of the entire building. In 2014, Siemens vacated the property and Kongeegen re-branded the then property as World Trade Center Ballerup. Following the rebranding, the Sponsor embarked upon the repositioning of the asset, creating a healthcare center, conference facilities and serviced office space, increasing occupancy to in excess of 90% today.

Limor Shilo, Head of Origination at Starz said: “Starz is delighted to have completed on the financing for WTC Ballerup, a modern asset located in the heart of the country’s ‘Silicon Valley’ and home to Denmark’s largest concentration of research and hi-tech companies. In a relatively short space of time, Kongeegen has successfully transitioned a substantial purpose-built HQ style single-tenanted property to a dynamic, multi-tenanted asset with multiple space types which is currently home to over 110 different occupiers from a variety of different industries. The current occupancy and performance of the property is testament to the appeal of the space the Sponsor has created through their refurbishment. We are excited to be supporting Kongeegen in the next phase of their business plan for the property.”

Jakob Venø Schougaard, COO at Kongeegen A/S commented: “It has been a pleasure to cooperate with Starz and at the same time be involved in their first transaction in the Danish market, where we have been advised by Wittenborg Capital LLP. We have, in a relatively short space of time, managed to develop the existing asset into a stable investment property and are now looking forward to further developing the property and its other possibilities.”

Thomas Wittenborg, Managing Partner, at Wittenborg Capital LLP commented: “we are very happy to have once again been able to support one of our long-standing clients with the financing of one of their key assets.”

About Starz
Launched in July 2018, Starz is a commercial real estate lender focused on middle-market loans throughout Europe. With a balance sheet built for the long haul, Starz is a flexible and reliable source of capital for real estate investors. Starz provides collaborative lending solutions coupled with streamlined underwriting processes that ensures seamless service. For more information, please visit: Starz Real Estate

About Kongeegen
Kongeegen A/S is a private Danish real estate investor and developer. For more information, please visit: Kongeegen and World Trade Center Ballerup.

About Wittenborg Capital
Wittenborg Capital LLP, established in 2010, is a mid-market real estate financial advisory boutique focused on advising borrowers on how to access both traditional bank lending as well as non-bank lending in Europe and the US.

For more information please visit: www.wittenborg.capital