Bigbank Lends 21 Million Euros to Coca-Cola Plaza Property Owner
Bigbank is lending 21 million euros to Baltic Horizon Fund's wholly-owned subsidiary BH CC Plaza OÜ, through which the owner of Coca-Cola Plaza and Postimaja shopping centers will refinance its existing loan and continue developing central Tallinn commercial real estate.
“For Bigbank's corporate banking, initiating large-scale cooperation with such a well-known and valued public fund is a significant event. This transaction also further confirms our desire and ability to finance projects of considerable scale by Estonian standards,” commented Aimar Roosalu, head of Bigbank's corporate banking for Estonian companies.
“We are pleased that cooperation with Bigbank accelerates the transformation of these two successful real estate objects. Over the past year, we have seen significant progress in both Coca-Cola Plaza and Postimaja – nearly all existing leases have been extended, and in addition, we concluded a long-term anchor tenant agreement with Apollo Group. These developments have successfully moved our substantial investment forward into a new real estate cycle. The refinancing agreement concluded confirms that Bigbank trusts our strategy and understands both the current value of the specific real estate and its significant potential,” said Tarmo Karotam, fund manager of Baltic Horizon Fund.
According to Aimar Roosalu's assessment, this is one of the capital's most recognizable landmarks, whose central location alongside several A-class buildings significantly adds to the potential to adapt the real estate to both current and future needs. “I see the bank continuing to finance similar projects in the future that help raise the quality and competitiveness of valued historical and at the same time highly potential iconic buildings,” added Roosalu.
The combined rental space of the two refinanced objects – Coca-Cola Plaza and Postimaja shopping center – is 16,278 square meters. The buildings together create strong synergy to offer diverse service options in the heart of Tallinn.
Postimaja shopping center has 4 floors and its main tenants are H&M, Rimi, New Yorker, MyFitness, Deichmann, Euroapteek, Reval Cafe. The building has a BREEAM 2023 certificate. The adjacent Coca-Cola Plaza building's anchor tenant is the Baltics' largest entertainment company Apollo Group. With a total of 11 screens and 1,700 seats and top-level screens and sound systems, Coca-Cola Plaza is Estonia's largest cinema complex. In addition to regular film screenings, Coca-Cola Plaza also offers live broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera performances and London National Theatre drama performances. In the future, the range of entertainment options in the building will expand further, with restaurants and a bookstore added.
BH CC Plaza OÜ is 100% owned by Baltic Horizon Fund, which is listed in the fund register of OMX Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange and focuses on active management of commercial real estate in the Baltic states. The fund's objective is to create value for investors by acquiring and managing quality commercial real estate objects in the capitals Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. The fund's portfolio contains 12 properties with a total value of 256.8 million euros and a rental area of 118,624 m². The fund is managed by Northern Horizon Capital AS, which is a subsidiary of the Northern Horizon group. The fund's activities are regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority.
With more than 30 years of operational history, Bigbank is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of September 30, 2024, the bank's balance sheet total was 2.6 billion euros and equity capital was 264.7 million euros. The bank operating in nine countries has over 150,000 active clients and over 500 employees. Rating agency Moody's has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1 and a base credit rating (BCA) and adjusted BCA of Ba2.
