Dorsett City Hotel secures refinancing

The Dorsett City Hotel has received a refinancing package after Aareal Bank announced the closing of a green financing agreement. 

The loan was received by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. and Highgate received a mortgage loan in the upper double-digit GBP million range. 

The five-year senior loan is collateralized by a property that meets sustainability criteria, which the borrower has committed to maintain throughout the term of the loan. This is the second green loan Aareal Bank has provided according to its Green Finance Framework.

The Dorsett City Hotel opened in February 2018 in Aldgate, spreading across 13 storeys, and 267 rooms.

Cerberus is a global leader in alternative investing with over $55bn (£40m) in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. 

Highgate is a fully integrated real estate investment firm with a primary focus on the hospitality sector, with a current portfolio that includes over 350 properties or 65,000 hotel rooms owned, managed, asset managed or under development throughout the United States, across Europe, and in 15 Caribbean and Latin American countries.

Bird and Bird advised Aareal Bank on legal matters, and CBRE performed the valuation.

Christof Winkelmann, member of the management board of Aareal Bank, said: “At Aareal Bank we believe that the Corona pandemic has contributed to a heightened awareness of sustainable management. I therefore expect that more and more sectors of the economy will systematically integrate sustainability requirements into their business models. 

“The financial sector has a prominent role to play in this process. Therefore, it is our intention to steadily increase the share of green buildings in our loan portfolio and we are pleased to be able to support Cerberus and Highgate on their path to sustainable investments.”