Allianz Real Estate has provided around 50% financing to fund manager DWS Investments for the acquisition of Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt.

DWS, part of the Deutsche Bank group, paid about EUR 600 mln for the headquarters which consists of two office towers.

The EUR 310 mln facility is the first financing provided under a new funding programme for Germany announced by the real estate arm of German insurance giant Allianz earlier this year.

In March Allianz Real Estate said it expects to reach a volume of EUR 1 bn in Germany by December. The company is focusing initially on the property lending market in Germany.

Depending on whether the venture in Germany is successful, it will look at expanding its debt-origination business in Italy and France at a later stage, the company’s CEO for Germany Stefan Brendgen said earlier this year.

But Charles Pridgeon, chief investment officer at Allianz Real Estate, told PropertyEU on 9 June that the current mandate restricted lending to Germany and any expansion to other markets was 'still a long way down the road'.

The move into the German property lending market comes in response to the wish to supplement the 'Pfandbrief' covered-bond real estate financing mechanism, as well as other fixed-income investments including corporate and government bonds.

The lending initiative is being spearheaded by Helmut Muehlhofer, head of Debt and Capital Markets at Allianz Real Estate. Muehlhofer reports to Pridgeon.

The company is seeking to grant fixed rated senior loans for around 60% of the value and with a term for 7-10 years or even longer.

In principle, Allianz' lending strategy focuses on core assets in the office, retail and logistics sector with deals ranging between EUR 50 mln to EUR 200 mln, though the volume can be higher for exceptional assets.