Ashurst advises NatWest on sale of Mercatus shopping centre loan portfolio
07 September 2021
The portfolio, representing debt of over £400 million, has been sold to a consortium comprising Attestor, an experienced purchaser of such loan portfolios with a track record of working with customers to develop long term solutions, Ellandi, an experienced asset manager of such properties, and Octane Capital.
In parallel with the Mercatus sales process, NatWest has also concluded several bilateral sales and refinancing of assets which were initially within the Mercatus portfolio, which were also carried out with the aim of achieving the best interests of the customer and their circumstances.
NatWest plans to redeploy the resulting capital from this portfolio sale into its future lending to UK business, allowing the bank to continue to focus its support of the economic recovery from the pandemic.
The Ashurst team was led by partners Mark Edwards, Callum McPherson and Nick Cheshire, supported by senior associates Thomas West and Jacob Gold.
Callum McPherson commented:
"We are delighted to have worked with NatWest on this portfolio sale and to continue our longstanding relationship with them. This is the first significant sale of distressed UK property loans of the current cycle and reflects investor appetite for property NPL portfolios."
