VICO CAPITAL, the investment vehicle controlled by Irish solicitor Brian O’Donnell and his wife Mary Pat, has refinanced a £107 million loan on 17 Columbus Courtyard in Canary Wharf, an office block used by Credit Suisse as its European headquarters.
The new loan has been financed by London-based Duet Private Equity, MetLife and “another partner”, believed to be an institution.
It refinanced an existing loan with Morgan Stanley.
Mr O’Donnell and his wife are involved in a legal action with Bank of Ireland, which is seeking to recoup €69.5 million in unpaid property loans.
A statement of affairs for Mr O’Donnell and his wife dated July 31st and filed with the Commercial Court assigned a value of €146.8 million to 17 Columbus Courtyard. The yield was stated at 5.3 per cent.
The value of the borrowings with Morgan Stanley on the office building was stated at €128.5 million, in the court documents.
Vico acquired Columbus Courtyard in 2005 for £125 million (the equivalent of €185 million at the time). It provides 200,000sq ft of office space and is let to Credit Suisse until 2024.
Mr O’Donnell yesterday described the refinancing as a “sophisticated and innovative transaction during a challenging period for the UK commercial real estate market”.
Philip Moore, investment manager at Duet, said the deal had been done “on a tight timeline”.
Vico has other real estate investments, including 15 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf, Sanctuary Buildings in Westminster, Fatburen Buildings in Stockholm and 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC.
Duet has assets under management of $2.3 billion while MetLife has a $46 billion property portfolio.
