Hi there, and welcome to Estates Gazette's new finance blog.
Me, other EG writers and various guest bloggers will post here regularly our thoughts on all things related to property finance, trying to dig a little deeper into the data and analysis available on the real estate sector.
Let's start big. The biggest portfolio out there in fact, the White Tower London office portfolio, bought by Simon Halabi, financed by Société Générale, valued at £1.8bn in October 2006.
As you may know, this deal is in a tricky spot.
The £1.4bn loan and bonds secured against it mature this October, and the fact that at the last valuation the property was worth £929m means its miles under water. The loan has defaulted, and is in special servicing (when a securitised loan is called in, essentially).
