Houston's Williams Tower Gets $185.4M in Financing

Invesco Real Estate has secured $185.4 million in permanent financing for the purchase of Williams Tower in Houston's Galleria region, a 1.4 million square-foot Class A office tower. Jones Lang LaSalle arranged the financing on behalf of Invesco through Prudential Mortgage Capital Company. Invesco purchased the 64-story office tower from Hines REIT early last month, with Jones Lang LaSalle's Tom Melody with Managing Directors Michael Zietsman and Dan Bellow representing Hines in the sale.

"This was a very significant financing transaction that generated substantial interest from the top-tier institutional lending community," said Melody. "Williams Tower is not only one of the most recognizable buildings in Houston, it is also an asset that has outperformed the market over the past five years, proving to be a very solid investment. We are confident Williams Tower will continue to deliver good returns for Invesco and perform favorably in the future given its high quality and position in the marketplace."

According to a Houston Chronicle report, the building is 95% occupied. Major tenants include Ecopetrol America, Hines Real Estate Investments, Knoll, NextiraOne, Rowan Cos., Smith Barney, Trammell Crow Co., Wells Fargo and Williams Corp.

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Prudential Provides $425M in Financing for Office Towers

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company announced this week that it had provided $425 million in financing for two office towers in Chicago and Seattle. The John Buck Company received a $300 million loan for 155 North Wacker in Chicago. The 10-year fixed-rate loan is being used to refinance the 1.15 million square foot tower in the West Loop submarket. In Seattle, AEW Capital Management received a $125 million 12-year loan to refinance West 8th Street, a 498,893 square foot Class A office tower.

"Although the office sector has been slow to recover, high-quality transactions such as these have continued, particularly in major markets," said Thomas Goodsite, a managing director with Prudential Mortgage Capital Company's Atlanta office who led the transactions. "We expect to do more of these types of deals as the economy continues to recover, and this sector will play a key role in helping us achieve our 2013 originations goals."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Prudential Mortgage Closes $108M UK CRE Loan

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, the commercial mortgage lending business of Prudential Financial, announced this week that it had closed a $108 million commercial real estate loan in the U.K., the first financing since launching its European business earlier this year. The 11-year financing loan is secured by a portfolio of five properties in London and Bath, and is sponsored by the O&H Group, a family-run business with real estate holdings and development projects throughout the U.K.

Prudential is targeting $500 million (GBP 325 million, EUR400 million) of long-term, fixed-rate senior debt transactions in Europe in 2012 according to a Commercial Observer article. "The diversification we can achieve by investing a portion of our portfolio outside of the U.S., whether it's Europe, Japan, or Mexico, is very valuable," said Thor Orndahl, a managing director who oversees Prudential Mortgage Capital Company's non-U.S. mortgage platform. "The current market dislocation has provided the opening we have been looking for, and our plan is to be active in Europe for many years to come."

Drew Abernethy, head of Pricoa's new European origination business, said, "Prudential is very pleased to have closed this first transaction so soon after introducing their its European program. It illustrates the strength of the Prudential platform globally, a commitment to Europe specifically, and an earnest belief that clients like O&H should have access to the type of long-term financing that they want."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.