HVB has granted one of the largest European lending commitments ever made in the property sector with a €1.6bn ($1.7bn) loan to Uni-Invest, a Dutch private property company.

HVB's real estate financing unit is lending €1.56bn to the property company to help it refinance debt and an acquisition bridge facility. Bankers at HVB real estate investment banking said that the deal allowed Uni-Invest to negotiate with just one bank rather than several. The deal took 12 months to complete.