Acquisition of Starwood interest in Windmill Lane...

Hibernia REIT plc (“Hibernia”) announces that it has acquired the interest of Starwood Capital Group (“Starwood”), held by a controlled affiliate, in their 50:50 joint arrangement, the Windmill Lane Partnership (“WLP”).  WLP was formed in 2015 to hold and develop 1 Windmill Lane (“1WML”), a one acre site in Dublin’s South Docks where 122,000 sq. ft. of offices, 7,000 sq. ft. of retail and 14 residential units are under construction, scheduled for completion in late 2017.

Hibernia has paid Starwood €27.5m and has assumed Starwood’s 50% share of the €44.2m non-recourse debt facility with Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (“Deutsche Bank”), which is currently €8.8m drawn (on a 100% basis) and will be used to fund the estimated remaining capital expenditure of €28m.  The price paid is modestly ahead of the September 2016 valuation and, together with the expected remaining costs to complete, equates to capital value of c. €750 per sq. ft. for the office space.  Hibernia expects the transaction to enhance NAV in the near term.

The acquisition means Hibernia now has full ownership of five adjacent properties (including SOBO Works) in the SOBO District of Dublin’s South Docks, comprising over 370,000 sq. ft. of office space either in-place or under construction.

Richard Ball, Chief Investment Officer of Hibernia, said:

“We are delighted to gain full ownership of 1WML, which, together with 1SJRQ, will deliver over 230,000 sq. ft. of best in class new office accommodation in central Dublin at a time when vacancy is at record lows.  We look forward to completing this exciting project in the next 12 months and progressing discussions with potential tenants in the near term.”