Blackstone funds Warehouse Reit buyout with commercial mortgage-backed securitisation debt deal
The deal lifts volumes in the CMBS asset class to a European record this year
[LONDON] Blackstone has completed a debt deal tied to a string of British warehouses to fund its recent buyout of Warehouse Reit, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The US private equity behemoth priced a £443 million (S$765.6 million) commercial mortgage-backed securitisation (CMBS) linked to the UK logistics portfolio of the real estate investment trust, said the person, asking not to be named. Blackstone took the firm private in September.
The deal lifts volumes in the CMBS asset class to a European record this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Blackstone is both a frequent issuer of CMBS as well as a major investor in logistics in the UK, betting that warehouses will be key in backing the relentless growth of online shopping.
The firm has already priced three logistics deals linked to UK warehouses this year alone, and is the biggest issuer of CMBS in Europe by far, accounting for well over half the market in 2025.
Its activity has helped boost volumes to 7.9 billion euros (S$12 billion), beating a previous record in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
CMBS has been fairly niche in Europe compared to a much larger US market. It has been hurt in recent years by declining office property values and emptying shopping malls, which were often collateral for past deals.
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But logistics and, increasingly, data centre-backed issuance, is expected to revive the market in the coming months and years.
The Blackstone deal, sold via its DBMS 2025-1 DAC vehicle, was jointly arranged and underwritten by Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, the person said. BLOOMBERG
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