IVG, the largest listed real estate company in Germany, announced that it has repaid EUR 450 mln as its part of its debt-reduction programme since mid-December 2010. The funds were raised through asset sales.

In April alone, IVG repaid EUR 180 mln. 'In doing so, IVG has even surpassed its contractually agreed repayment by EUR 6 mln,' the company said in a statement.

The programme currently provides for repayments totalling EUR 500 mln on 2009’s so-called SynLoan II. The aim is to reduce IVG's gearing from currently around 70% to a range of 60% to 65% in the medium term.

IVG generated the funds for the current repayment of around EUR 180 mln from the scheduled, on-time disposal of six caverns to the cavern fund which was initiated by IVG in the autumn of 2008 and which is subscribed to by German institutional investors. The caverns' tenants are well-known energy corporations.

IVG had initiated its debt reduction programme in December 2010 with its first repayment of €120 mln. The funds for this came from the scheduled sale of four caverns to the cavern fund.

In the first quarter of the year, in addition to smaller repayment installments for current loans of around EUR 35 mln since mid-December, IVG repaid the loan of EUR 114 mln used to finance a project development in Berlin that it has now been sold.

Income from the sale of properties, which exceeds the partially existent object-specific loans, is largely being used for planned investment activities such as cavern construction.

IVG Immobilien AG is one of the major real estate companies in Europe. The company manages assets on its balance sheet and through funds worth EUR 22 bn.