German property lender Aareal Bank and US financial services firm Morgan Stanley have jointly arranged a EUR 210 mln club financing for the Défense Plaza office building in Paris. Aareal Bank acquired the EUR 195 mln senior tranche, initially provided by Morgan Stanley, with a junior lender contributing a further EUR 15 mln to the deal.

Aareal is acting as facility, payment and security Manager. The financing was arranged for a joint venture between US property investment companies Beacon Capital Partners and Northwood Investors. Beacon originally acquired the building in 2006.

The office building was constructed in 2005 by developer HRO. It provides 31,160 m2 of lettable floorspace across 14 storeys and is fully let to major international tenants. The building has been awarded the French green building certification Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE).

Défense Plaza is located west of Paris at the centre of La Défense, the largest purpose-built business office district in Europe.

'The financing of the Défense Plaza is an outstanding example of Aareal Bank's long-standing and intensive commitment in France. We have been operating in France for almost 30 years now and have become an integral part of the market', said Aareal's board member Dirk Große Wördemann. 'In addition, this club deal confirms our excellent and successful cooperation with Morgan Stanley.'