• Portfolio is anchored by world’s oldest continuously running department store, Steen & Strøm, which opened in 1797
• 3.6bn NOK (€320m) facility is understood to be Norway’s largest-ever real estate portfolio refinancing
• Transaction marks Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies’ first financing in Norway

MARK Capital Management (‘MARK’), an independent pan-European real estate investment and asset manager, has secured a circa €320m senior loan to refinance a mixed-use retail and office portfolio in Oslo’s central business district.

The investment facility was provided by Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies (BREDS) on a five-year term following lender outreach by Rothschild & Co and ABG. The transaction marks Blackstone’s first real estate debt financing in Norway and is understood to be the largest single-tranche refinancing of a real estate portfolio to have been completed in the country.

The portfolio, which comprises twelve properties was acquired by a MARK-advised fund in 2016, and is held in joint venture with a Middle Eastern institutional investor.  The properties are managed by Promenaden, an Oslo-based entity wholly owned by the MARK-advised fund.

Notable assets include Steen & Strøm, the world’s oldest continuously operational department store, which opened its doors in 1797. The department store increased year-on-year sales by 6.9% in 2024, achieving record sales for a second consecutive year.

Eger Quarter, a shopping gallery originally built in the 1850s and now home to Europe’s largest luxury watch emporium, Bjerke House, following a multi-million-euro revamp, was recently refinanced in a separate transaction.

The majority of the portfolio (71% by GLA) is on Nedre Slottsgate, a 96-metre avenue known as the ‘Bond Street of Oslo’ after becoming home to nine of the ten most valuable non-automotive luxury brands in the world. Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Hermes, Loewe, Saint Laurent, Moncler, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior all occupy premises on the street, with Prada set to join later this year.

The smaller office element of the portfolio includes occupiers from across the medical, technology, financial and professional services sectors.

Marcus Meijer, CEO, MARK Capital Management, said: “The Promenaden portfolio represents Europe’s most concentrated set of luxury retail and Grade A office properties – effectively a compressed alternative to Bond Street in London or Via Monte Napoleone in Milan – and is Norway’s most prestigious high-end retail destination, located in the very heart of Oslo’s central business district. These qualities have drawn the attention of major international investors, as the refinancing from Blackstone demonstrates.”

Annette Lund, CEO, Promenaden, said: “In partnership with MARK Capital Management, we have helped reposition the portfolio to attract nine of the top ten luxury brands globally. Our joint asset management initiatives, underpinned by a disciplined capex programme, have already generated significant value for our capital partners, and there remains further untapped potential that we will seek to unlock over the loan term.”

Stefano Tomaselli, Managing Director, BREDS, said: “We are pleased to finance this high-quality portfolio for MARK and its partners. This transaction is a great example of BREDS’ ability to provide large financing solutions with both speed and certainty of execution.”