Palm City Limited and its shareholders, Corinthia Palace Hotel Company Limited (CPHCL) from Malta and National Real Estate Company Limited (NREC) from Kuwait, signed in Tripoli a EUR 55 million seven-year Project Finance Facility.
The Facility was arranged by the Mandated Lead Arrangers ABC International Bank plc (ABCIB) and BAWAG P.S.K. Bank. ABC International Bank plc is the Facility Agent and the English Security Trustee. The other lenders are Bank of Valletta, Tunis International Bank and Gumhouriya Bank, also Libyan Security Agent.
Palm City is the first international limited recourse project finance transaction in the Real Estate sector to be undertaken in Libya to date.
Project Description
The Palm City Residence project consists of the construction of an upmarket residential development of 404 units, on a seafront plot of land located in Janzour, a coastal town 15km west of Tripoli. The units comprise a mix of bungalows, maisonettes, terraced houses, villas and apartments, focused around a central piazza, which will house a number of retail outlets. The residence also includes sport and leisure facilities as well as a private beach.
The 404 units will mainly be leased out to blue chip oil companies, embassies and other expatriates residing in Libya.
Palm City Limited, the owner and developer of this project, is a company owned 50% by CPHCL and 50% by NREC.
CPHCL is a Maltese based international hotel owner and operator, established in 1966 as a private limited liability company.
The Corinthia Group has property ownership interests in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Tunisia, Portugal, Russia and Turkey. Other key subsidiary companies include Quality Project Management Limited (“QPM”), the entity responsible for the construction of the Corinthia Bab Africa, and CHI Ltd, the hotel operating company.
NREC, established in 1973, is quoted on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market. The company has international property investments in the U.A.E, U.S.A and Lebanon, and is finalising a number of investments in Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bahrain and now Libya.
London-headquartered ABCIB was established in 1991 as a wholly-owned UK subsidiary of Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC).
Its core business comprises trade and commodity finance, project, export and structured finance, Islamic asset management and treasury services. ABCIB has branches in Paris, Frankfurt and Milan, marketing offices in Rossendale (in the North of England) and Stockholm, and representative offices in Istanbul and Madrid.
The principal shareholders of parent group ABC are the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Central Bank of Libya and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The ABC Group, listed on the Bahrain stock exchange, is a leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa and operates as an offshore commercial bank.
ABC provides a full range of retail and commercial banking, corporate finance, discretionary fund management, foreign exchange, derivatives, Islamic banking and financial advisory services in the markets in which it offers those services.