HSH Nordbank and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank finance UPPER WEST project development in Berlin

Hamburg/Kiel, July 10, 2013 - HSH Nordbank and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank are providing syndicated finance for Atlas Tower GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of the project developer STRABAG Real Estate GmbH (SRE), to develop the UPPER WEST building complex project in Berlin. HSH Nordbank is the mandated lead arranger for this transaction.

At almost 120 meters, one of the highest buildings in Berlin is being erected in the district of Charlottenburg, a location on the Kurfürstendamm which is steeped in tradition. 14 floors of this prominent building will provide office space while the lower 18 storeys are already leased to a hotel company on a long-term basis. A Skybar with a spectacular view is to be opened on the 33rd floor. The high-rise will be complemented by an adjacent, interlinked eight-storey building. Over-all, the UPPER WEST buildings will contain some 25,500 sqm of office space, 5,500 sqm of retail floor space and 21,000 sqm for hotel use. Building is due to be completed at the end of 2016.

SRE is one of the leading project developers in Germany and belongs to the STRABAG SE Group of companies, one of the largest European construction groups. To date SRE has completed around 450 projects with a volume of some EUR 5 billion. One of its most important current projects is UPPER WEST, known as the “Atlas-Tower” at the beginning of planning. The complex will be built by Ed. Züblin AG, which also belongs to the STRABAG SE Group.

“We have financing partners with long-standing and profound market expertise at our side. This is a key prerequisite for the realisation of UPPER WEST, a flagship project in the centre of Ber-lin,” said SRE CEO Günter Nikelowski.

“The Berlin office property market numbers among the “Big Five” in Germany. Providing finance in this metropolis is part of our and pbb’ core business. The location of the building in the middle of the city is ideal, both for the retail trade and offices and as a hotel site. STRABAG, the company responsible for completing the project, is a successful global player in the construction and pro

ject development sector and offers proven expertise in building high-rises,” said Peter Axmann, Head of Real Estate Clients at HSH Nordbank, for the finance providers.

About pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank is a specialist bank for commercial real estate finance and public in-vestment finance. In addition to Germany, the main focus of business is to be found in Great Britain, France and Scandinavia; furthermore the bank is active in other selected European countries. Its core business is lending: the bank has an important role to play in supplying credit to the real estate indus-try and supports the public sector with financing for projects and measures designed to improve public infrastructure.

In the field of real estate financing, the Group’s range of services targets professional national and international real estate investors such as real estate companies, institutional investors, real estate funds as well as SMEs and customers with a regional focus in Germany. The focus is on the less volatile real estate types, namely offices, retail properties, apartments and logistics. pbb focuses on medium to large-scale financing arrangements, and offers its customers local expertise and international know-how.

About HSH Nordbank:

As a “Bank for entrepreneurs”, HSH Nordbank focuses on the clearly defined target group of owner-managed companies in the upper medium-sized German corporate segment and their owners. The Bank wants to be a preferred partner for these clients in all financial matters - both business-related as well as private. This includes the corporate client every bit as much as the ship owner, the real estate client, the project developer in the energy and infrastructure segments or wealth management clients.

In the real estate sector HSH Nordbank is firmly rooted in its home market of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Further focal points in the real estate financing business are to be found in the German metropolitan regions of Berlin, Düsseldorf/Cologne/Ruhr region, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich. In addition to this, HSH Nordbank also supports the portfolio transactions and real estate projects of foreign investors. It develops customised finance solutions for professional real estate investors as well as for project and property developers. As a specialist, in addition to conventional mortgage finance it also offers financing with greater structuring requirements as well as for project developments and property developer activities.