Mayland Real Estate has been granted a EUR 137 mln senior loan to finance the redevelopment and extension of the Wzgórze shopping centre in Gdynia, Poland.

Polish lenders Bank Pekao and Bank Zachodni WBK are originating the facility, with Bank Pekao - part of the Unicredit Group - acting as agent and majority lender. The loan was arranged by Colliers International. .

The 21,000-m2 scheme is owned by French investor Fonciere Euris and is currently 70%-leased out. Mayland will carry out the redevelopment and retain the management of the asset. Construction work on Wzgórze will start in the following weeks, with the grand opening planned for Q3 2013. On completion, it will offer 70,000 m2 of space across 270 retail units.

Commenting on the debt transaction, Monika Mielecka, director of Commercial Real Estate Finance at Bank Pekao said: 'This transaction confirms our strategy of providing flexible construction finance to experienced and competent developers, and is an evidence that we are a stable banking partner.'

Mayland Real Estate has been active in Poland since 2006. It has developed three shopping centres so far - Karolinka in Opole, Pogoria in Dąbrowa Górnicza and Jantar in Słupsk and plans to develop a further seven malls totalling 300,000 m2.