Accolade with major financing and a new partner

Accolade has received long-term financing for its five industrial parks located in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Szczecin Załom (West), Szczecin Kniewska, Częstochowa, and Kielce. The loan of 129 million euros (refinancing loan) was provided by a new financial partner, Helaba Bank. The transaction will improve the profitability and results of Accolade.

"This is already the second major refinancing of our Polish portfolio. The first took place in September 2020, and we extended it exactly one year later, during the COVID pandemic. Times and the market have changed significantly, bringing a multitude of challenges. However, Accolade's strategy has proven resilient to this, which is why we continue to build long-term relationships with the largest European banking groups. Financing with our new partner - Helaba Bank – confirming trust in our operations, is another positive verification of this. We are very satisfied that we managed to complete this transaction," says Tomas Prochazka, CFO of Accolade Group.

Accolade and Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen have entered into a loan agreement regarding the refinancing of five parks located in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Szczecin, Częstochowa, and Kielce. The new financing, with a total value of 129 million euros, granted for a period of 5 years, is the first transaction between the parties. For Accolade, the refinancing means lower bank financing costs, reduced operational burdens, and an improved debt maturity structure, which will effectively allow for increased portfolio profitability in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the market situation, especially rising interest rates resulting in higher financing costs, has become very demanding for some investors. In the face of the current macroeconomic situation, banks are very selective regarding the individual real estate segments and client groups they finance.

"We are working with Helaba for the first time and we are pleased that they placed their trust in us from the beginning, providing a significant amount of new financing. We realize that we owe this trust to the experienced Accolade team overseeing a diversified real estate portfolio and to the Accolade clients operating in these facilities. The new loan significantly improves the financing structure of our portfolio in Poland and allows us to focus on its further development. At the same time, we continue to cooperate with all other significant banks in Poland," emphasized Jakub Leszczyński, General Counsel of Accolade in Poland.

Thanks to this transaction, Helaba has become one of the two largest banks financing Accolade in Poland.
"We are very pleased that we managed to finalize such a significant transaction with Accolade at the end of the year, concerning five logistics properties in Poland. Accolade is one of the main players in this sector in Central and Eastern Europe, and is currently expanding its operations to Western Europe as well. During the financing process, Accolade proved to be a reliable and professional partner. The work of the Helaba team, led by Georg Blaschke, was accompanied throughout by trust and commitment aimed at closing the financing in the shortest possible time. We hope to continue our cooperation with Accolade in the future and have the opportunity to participate in the development of operations in new markets," says Martin Erbe, Head of Real Estate Finance for the CEE region, Benelux, and International Clients (Germany) at Helaba.

Source: press materials