Criterion Capital has completed a £937m ($1.46bn) refinancing deal with Aviva, the largest real estate loan of the year by a single lender and the largest real estate refinancing of any kind this year, according to property-magazine.eu.
The new loan covers a portfolio of 14 flagship properties in London's West End, including the Criterion and Trocadero, which are being redeveloped.
The refinancing reportedly consisted of 35-year and 50-year money, based on UK gilt rates.
Meanwhile, M&G Real Estate has agreed to pre-let the entire office element of the London Fruit & Wool Exchange in Spitalfields, London, to law firm Ashurst in what is thought to be the largest central London letting this year. Ashurst has signed a 20-year lease for about 275,000 sq ft (25,500 sq m) of space on completion of the building.
M&G Real Estate, part of the Prudential group, bought the London Fruit & Wool Exchange in March 2015 for £55m.