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REG-Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltd SWEF: Portfolio Update

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   Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltd (SWEF)
   SWEF: Portfolio Update

   25-Apr-2024 / 07:00 GMT/BST

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                 Starwood European Real Estate Finance Limited

                                        

                           Quarterly Portfolio Update

                  £37.9 million repaid across four investments

   Fourth and fifth capital redemptions totalling £45.0 million undertaken in
                            February and March 2024

    

   Starwood European Real Estate Finance Limited (“SEREF” or the “Group”),  a
   leading investor  managing  and  realising a  diverse  portfolio  of  high
   quality senior and  mezzanine real estate  debt in the  UK and Europe,  is
   pleased to present its performance for the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

    

   Highlights

     •  Further realisation progress - during the quarter:

          ◦ A total of £37.9 million, over 14 per cent of the Group’s 31
            December 2023 total funded loan portfolio, has been repaid across
            four investments
          ◦ This included the full settlement of one loan (Shopping Centre,
            Spain which had been classified as a Stage 3 loan) and three
            partial repayments
          ◦ The proceeds of these repayments, along with some of the cash
            balance held at 31 December 2023, were used in the quarter to
            fund the fourth and fifth returns of capital to shareholders
            totalling £45.0 million

     • Dividend - on 25 April 2024, the Directors announced a dividend, to be
       paid in May, in respect  of the first quarter  of 2024 of 1.375  pence
       per Ordinary Share in line with the 2024 dividend target of 5.5  pence
       per Ordinary Share in total
     • Strong cash generation –  going forward the  portfolio is expected  to
       continue to support annual dividend payments of 5.5 pence per Ordinary
       Share, paid quarterly
     • All assets are constantly monitored for changes in their risk  profile
       –the current status of the investments is listed below:

          ◦ Seven loan investments equivalent to 72 per cent of the funded
            portfolio are classified in the lowest risk profile, Stage 1
          ◦ Four loan investments equivalent to 28 per cent of the funded
            portfolio are classified as Stage 2
          ◦ Following the settlement of the Shopping Centre, Spain loan
            during the quarter there are no loans classified as Stage 3. 
            €0.2 million of the €4.0 million provided for impairment against
            this loan as at 31 December 2023 was released in March 2024
            following the sale of the underlying loan asset.

     • The average remaining loan term of the portfolio is 1.4 years
     • Inflation protection – 89 per cent  of the portfolio is contracted  at
       floating interest rates (with floors)
     • Robust portfolio - the  loan book is performing  broadly in line  with
       expectations with  its defensive  qualities reflected  in the  Group’s
       continued NAV stability in a challenging macro environment
     • Significant equity cushion -  the weighted average  Loan to Value  for
       the portfolio is 58 per cent

    

   John Whittle, Chairman of SEREF, said:

    

   “2024 has started well in terms of our orderly realisation strategy,  with
   £37.9 million being  realised from  loan repayments  during the  quarter. 
   This has  enabled us  to  return £45.0  million  to shareholders  via  two
   capital redemptions in 2024 to date.

    

   Despite continued high  interest rates, volatile  economic conditions  and
   lower transaction volumes,  the portfolio has  continued to perform  well.
   Following the  settlement  of the  Shopping  Centre loan,  Spain  and  the
   partial repayment of the  Three Shopping Centres, Spain  loan, just 5  per
   cent of the total funded loan portfolio is allocated to the Retail  sector
   as of 31 March 2024.

    

   We are on  track to  meet our  aim of  paying out  a 5.5  pence per  share
   dividend for 2024.  We also  expect to  make further  realisations in  the
   coming  months  and  look  forward  to  updating  shareholders  on   these
   realisations in due course.”

    

   The     factsheet     for     the     period     is     available      at:
    1 www.starwoodeuropeanfinance.com

    

    

   Share Price / NAV at 31 March 2024

    

   Share price (p)                 92.2p
   NAV (p)                         104.45
   Discount                        11.7%
   Dividend yield (on share price) 6.0%
   Market cap                      £249m

    

    

   Key Portfolio Statistics at 31 March 2024

    

   Number of investments                                                   11
   Percentage of currently invested portfolio in floating rate          88.9%
   loans
   Invested Loan Portfolio unlevered annualised total return (1)         8.4%
   Weighted average portfolio LTV – to Group first £ (2)                13.0%
   Weighted average portfolio LTV – to Group last £ (2)                 57.9%
   Average remaining loan term                                      1.4 years
   Net Asset Value                                                    £282.2m
   Loans advanced (including accrued interest)                        £228.1m
   Cash                                                                £53.9m
   Other net assets (including hedges)                                  £0.2m

    

   Remaining years  to  contractual     Value of loans          % of invested
   maturity*                                      (£m)              portfolio
   0 to 1 years                                  £94.2                  41.8%
   1 to 2 years                                  £61.4                  27.3%
   2 to 3 years                                  £69.4                  30.9%

   *excludes any  permitted extensions.   Note that  borrowers may  elect  to
   repay loans before contractual maturity.

    

    

   Country             % of invested assets
   UK                                 78.1%
   Republic of Ireland                13.5%
   Spain                               8.4%

    

   Sector           % of invested assets
   Hospitality                     50.1%
   Office                          13.8%
   Light Industrial                12.1%
   Healthcare                      11.1%
   Life Sciences                    6.9%
   Retail                           5.1%
   Residential                      0.9%

    

   Loan type   % of invested assets
   Whole loans                76.2%
   Mezzanine                  23.8%

    

   Currency % of invested assets*
   Sterling                 78.1%
   Euro                     21.9%

   *the currency split refers to the underlying loan currency, however the
   capital on all non-sterling exposure is hedged back to sterling.

    

   (1) The  unlevered  annualised  total  return  is  calculated  on  amounts
   outstanding at  the reporting  date,  excluding undrawn  commitments,  and
   assuming all drawn loans are  outstanding for the full contractual  term. 
   10 of the  loans are floating  rate (partially  or in whole  and all  with
   floors) and returns are based on  an assumed profile for future  interbank
   rates, but the actual  rate received may be  higher or lower.   Calculated
   only on  amounts funded  at  the reporting  date and  excluding  committed
   amounts (but including  commitment fees) and  excluding cash  uninvested. 
   The calculation also excludes the  origination fee paid to the  Investment
   Manager.

   (2) LTV to Group last  £ means the percentage  which the total loan  drawn
   less  any  deductible  lender  controlled  cash  reserves  and  less   any
   amortisation received to date (when aggregated with any other indebtedness
   ranking  alongside  and/or  senior  to  it)  bears  to  the  market  value
   determined by the last formal  lender valuation received by the  reporting
   date.  LTV to first Group £ means the starting point of the loan to  value
   range of  the loans  drawn (when  aggregated with  any other  indebtedness
   ranking senior to it). For  development projects the calculation  includes
   the total facility available and is calculated against the assumed  market
   value on completion of the relevant project.  

    

   Orderly Realisation and Return of Capital

    

   On 31 October  2022, the  Board announced the  Company’s Proposed  Orderly
   Realisation and Return of Capital to Shareholders. A Circular relating  to
   the Proposed  Orderly Realisation,  containing a  Notice of  Extraordinary
   General Meeting (EGM)  was published  on 28 December  2022. The  proposals
   were approved by Shareholders at the  EGM in January 2023 and the  Company
   is now seeking to return cash to Shareholders in an orderly manner as soon
   as  reasonably  practicable  following  the  repayment  of  loans,   while
   retaining sufficient  working  capital  for  ongoing  operations  and  the
   funding of committed but currently unfunded loan commitments.

    

   The redemptions announced  and implemented  in 2023  returned circa  £85.0
   million in total to  shareholders. During the first  quarter of 2024,  the
   Company  announced   and  implemented   its  fourth   and  fifth   capital
   redemptions, returning,  in total,  circa  £45.0 million  to  shareholders
   through the  compulsory redemption  of 43,512,736  shares.  Following  the
   fifth redemption,  the Company  has 270,178,206  shares in  issue and  the
   total number of voting rights is 270,178,206.

    

   Liquidity and credit facilities

    

   During 2023 the Company  built up a cash  reserve sufficient to cover  its
   unfunded commitments  (which  as  at  31  March  2024  amounted  to  £31.4
   million).  This cash reserve is included in the £53.9 million of cash held
   as at 31 March 2024. 

    

   During the quarter the Lloyds £25.0 million revolving credit facility  was
   terminated. It had been due to mature in May 2024.  The decision was taken
   to terminate it  early as the  Company holds sufficient  cash to meet  its
   commitments and there was no intention to use the facility before the  end
   of the availability period.

    

   Dividend

    

   On 25 April 2024, the Directors announced  a dividend, to be paid in  May,
   in respect of the first quarter of 2024 of 1.375 pence per Ordinary  Share
   in line with the 2024 dividend target of 5.5 pence per Ordinary Share 

    

   Portfolio Update

    

   The Group continues to  closely monitor and manage  the credit quality  of
   its loan exposures and repayments. Despite continued high interest  rates,
   volatile economic conditions and lower transaction volumes, the  portfolio
   has continued to perform well.

    

   On an  aggregate portfolio  level  we continue  to benefit  from  material
   headroom in underlying  collateral value  against the loan  basis, with  a
   current weighted average loan to value  of 58 per cent. These metrics  are
   based on independent  third party  appraisals (with the  exception of  one
   loan that has been  marked against lower  recent comparable sale  levels).
   These appraisals  are  typically  updated annually  for  income  producing
   assets. The current weighted average age of valuations is eight months.

    

   Significant loan repayments totalling £37.9 million, equivalent to 14  per
   cent of the 31 December 2023 total funded portfolio, were received  during
   the quarter  to  31 March  2024.  This  included full  settlement  of  the
   Shopping Centre, Spain loan and 60 per cent of the Three Shopping Centres,
   Spain loan. These repayments mark a  significant 73 per cent reduction  in
   the Group’s exposure to  the Retail sector,  with just 5  per cent of  the
   total funded loan portfolio allocated to the Retail sector as of 31  March
   2024.

    

   The Group’s exposure is spread across  eleven investments. 99 per cent  of
   the total funded loan portfolio as of  31 March 2024 is spread across  six
   asset classes;  Hospitality (50  per cent),  Office (14  per cent),  Light
   industrial (12 per cent), Healthcare (11  per cent), Life sciences (7  per
   cent) and Retail (5 per cent).

    

   Hospitality exposure  (50  per  cent)  is  diversified  across  five  loan
   investments. Two loans (12 per cent of hospitality exposure) benefit  from
   State/Government licences in place at the properties and also benefit from
   significant amortisation that continues to decrease these loan  exposures.
   One loan (37 per cent of  hospitality exposure) has two underlying key  UK
   gateway city  hotel assets,  both of  which are  undergoing  comprehensive
   refurbishment programmes  which  are  due to  complete  during  2024.  The
   remaining two loans (51 per cent  of hospitality exposure) have both  been
   recently refurbished. The  Group expects  its exposure  to hospitality  to
   significantly reduce during 2024 from a combination of planned asset sales
   and refinancings  of stabilised,  strong performing  assets. The  weighted
   average loan to value of the hospitality exposure is 54 per cent.

    

   The Group’s Office  exposure (14  per cent)  is spread  across three  loan
   investments. The  weighted average  loan  to value  of loans  with  office
   exposure is 75 per cent. The average age of these independently instructed
   valuation reports is less than one year and there continues to be headroom
   to the Group’s loan basis.

    

   Light industrial and healthcare exposures comprise 12 per cent and 11  per
   cent each  respectively,  totalling  23  per  cent  of  the  total  funded
   portfolio (across two investments) and provides good diversification  into
   asset classes that continue to have very strong occupational and  investor
   demand. Weighted average loan to value of these exposures is 57 per cent.

    

   The Group’s Retail exposure has been materially reduced in the quarter  to
   31 March 2024 to £11.4 million remaining on one loan, equivalent to 5  per
   cent of the total funded portfolio.  This is a reduction of £31.1  million
   or 73 per cent  of Retail exposure versus  the 31 December 2023  position.
   This followed the  sale of three  of the shopping  centres underlying  two
   Retail loans, with 100 per cent of net disposal proceeds being used to pay
   down the loans.  The remaining Retail  exposure of £11.4  million is  held
   against one remaining  shopping centre under  the Three Shopping  Centres,
   Spain, senior loan. This asset  is well occupied and  100 per cent of  the
   loan is forecast  to be  recovered when the  asset is  sold. The  weighted
   average loan to value of the remaining retail exposure is 75 per cent. The
   value basis  of this  calculation is  the lower  of projected  sale  value
   (benchmarked against  the recent  sales value  realised) and  most  recent
   third party independent appraisals.

    

   The Group has no exposure to development and heavy refurbishment  projects
   (as at 31 March 2023 this exposure  amounted to 11 per cent of total  loan
   commitments).

    

   Credit Risk Analysis

    

   All loans within the  portfolio are classified  and measured at  amortised
   cost less impairment. 

    

   During the quarter there have been no changes to the existing credit  risk
   levels for  any of  the  loans in  the  portfolio, however  following  the
   reduction during the quarter of the Retail sector exposure, there has been
   a £31.4 million, 33 per cent decrease in the aggregate of the Stage 2  and
   3 category loans as of 31 March 2024 compared to 31 December 2023.

    

   The Group follows a three-stage model  for impairment based on changes  in
   credit quality since initial recognition as summarised below:

     • A  financial  instrument  that  is  not  credit-impaired  on   initial
       recognition  is  classified  as  Stage  1  and  has  its  credit  risk
       continuously monitored by the Group. The expected credit loss  (“ECL”)
       is measured over a 12-month period of time.
     • If a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition  is
       identified, the financial instrument  is moved to Stage  2 but is  not
       yet deemed to be  credit-impaired. The ECL is  measured on a  lifetime
       basis.
     • If the financial  instrument is  credit-impaired it is  then moved  to
       Stage 3. The ECL is measured on a lifetime basis.

    

   The  Group  closely  monitors   all  loans  in   the  portfolio  for   any
   deterioration  in   credit   risk.  As   of   31  March   2024,   assigned
   classifications are:

    

     • Stage 1  loans  – seven  loan  investments totalling  £162.2  million,
       equivalent to 72 per  cent of the funded  portfolio are classified  in
       the lowest risk profile, Stage 1.

    

     • Stage 2  loans  –  four  loan  investments  totalling  £62.8  million,
       equivalent to 28 per  cent of the funded  portfolio are classified  as
       Stage 2.  The average loan to value of these exposures is 69 per cent.
       The weighted average age of valuation report dates used in the loan to
       value calculation is eight  months old. While  these loans are  higher
       risk than at  initial recognition, no  loss has been  recognised on  a
       twelve-month and lifetime expected credit losses basis. Therefore,  no
       impairment in  the  value of  these  loans has  been  recognised.  The
       drivers for classifying these  deals as Stage  2 are typically  either
       one or a combination of the below factors:

          ◦ lower underlying property values following receipt of updated
            formal appraisals by independent valuers or agreed and in
            exclusivity sale values;
          ◦ sponsor business plans progressing more slowly than originally
            underwritten meaning that trading performance has lagged
            expectation and operating financial covenants under the facility
            agreements have breached; and
          ◦ additional equity support is required to cover interest or
            operating shortfalls as a result of slower lease up or operations
            taking longer to ramp up.

    

   The Stage  2  loans continue  to  benefit  from headroom  to  the  Group’s
   investment basis. The Group has a  strategy for each of these deals  which
   targets full  loan repayment  over a  defined period  of time.  Timing  of
   repayment will  vary  depending  on  the  level  of  equity  support  from
   sponsors. Typically,  where  sponsors  are willing  to  inject  additional
   equity to partially  pay down the  loans and support  their business  plan
   execution, then the  Group will  grant some  temporary financial  covenant
   headroom. Otherwise, sponsors  are running sale  processes to sell  assets
   and repay their loans. 

    

     • Stage 3 loans – As at 31 March 2024, no loans were classified as Stage
       3.  The  Shopping  Centre,  Spain,  mezzanine  loan,  which  had  been
       classified as Stage 3 as at 31 December 2023, was fully settled during
       the quarter and €3.8 million of the previously recognised €4.0 million
       impairment provision  against this  loan  was realised.   Despite  the
       impairment the loan investment achieved local currency returns of  1.3
       times the Group’s capital invested.

    

   This assessment has been  made based on information  in our possession  at
   the date  of reporting,  our assessment  of  the risks  of each  loan  and
   certain estimates and judgements around future performance of the assets. 

    

   Repayments

    

   During the quarter borrowers  repaid at total of  £37.9 million under  the
   following loan obligations:

     • €12.2 million, Shopping Centre, Spain (settlement of loan in full)
     • €19.5 million,  Three Shopping  Centres, Spain  (partial repayment  of
       loan, including €0.3 million of scheduled amortisation)
     • €12.0 million, Hotel, Dublin (partial repayment of loan)
     • £0.6 million, Hotel and Office, Northern Ireland (partial repayment of
       loan)

    

   These repayments,  along with  some of  the  cash balance  held as  at  31
   December 2023,  were used  in the  quarter to  fund the  fourth and  fifth
   returns  of  capital  to  Shareholders  (which  amounted  to  circa  £45.0
   million).

    

   Market commentary and outlook

   Global inflation has  moved back  significantly from  the highly  elevated
   levels seen in 2023 but remains above target levels.  During the past  few
   weeks the optimism  around the speed  at which target  inflation would  be
   reached and expectations for rapid  central banks’ reductions in  interest
   rate policy have diminished.  

    

   Recent inflation numbers have  been persistently higher than  expectations
   and target inflation  levels.  The overall  decline since the  peak in  US
   Inflation has been considerable,  having moved from 9.1  per cent in  June
   2022 to 3.5 per cent in March 2024.  In the United Kingdom similarly there
   has been  a significant  reduction  in inflation  from  11.1 per  cent  in
   November 2022  to 3.2  per cent  in  March 2024.  In this  first  quarter,
   economic data has generally pointed to  a slower pace of stabilisation  of
   inflation. 

    

   Interest rate policy makers have maintained a resolute stance on finishing
   the job on combatting this inflation with interest rate policy.  Since the
   beginning of the year the expectations of the number of interest rate cuts
   the market  expects in  2024 have  reduced significantly.   In the  United
   States the Federal Reserve dot plots predicted three cuts during 2024  and
   the market had priced  in six cuts  at the beginning of  the year but  the
   expectation now is that there will only be one or two cuts during  2024.  
   Similarly in the United Kingdom the  market had priced in 1.04  percentage
   points of cuts at  the beginning of  the year but  the expectation now  is
   that there will only be 0.38 percentage points of cuts during 2024. 

    

   This has also fed  into longer term interest  rates which remain  elevated
   relative to the past few years and which have rebounded from recent trough
   levels achieved at the end of 2023.   Since the beginning of the year  the
   US 10 Year Treasury yields have moved up more than half way back to recent
   peak levels.  The US 10  Year Treasury rate has risen  by 0.7 per cent  to
   4.6 per cent having started the year  at 3.9 per cent which compared to  a
   peak of 5.0 per cent in October 2023.  Similarly UK 10 Year Gilt rates are
   4.3 per cent which is  up from 3.5 per cent  at the beginning of the  year
   and compared with a peak  of 4.7 per cent in  October of 2023.  German  10
   Year Bond rates follow the same  directional trend but at lower rates  and
   with smaller movement.   The German 10  Year Bond yields are 2.5 per  cent
   up from 2.0 per cent at the beginning of the year and compared with a peak
   of 3.0 per cent in October 2023. 

    

   European commercial real estate  is typically financed  using 3 to  5-year
   floating rate debt and the key benchmark for financing cost is the  5-year
   swap. The GBP and EUR 5-year swaps  currently stand at circa 4.1 per  cent
   and 2.7 per cent respectively, having started the year at 3.3 per cent and
   2.3 per cent.

    

   Over the last two  years higher uncertainty over  the levels of  inflation
   and  interest  rates  has  been  one   of  the  key  factors  leading   to
   significantly lower  transaction volumes  in  commercial real  estate  and
   according to CBRE research, 2023 had the lowest level of investment volume
   since the GFC in Europe with volumes half of the levels of recent years.  
   With stickier inflation and a  higher for longer expectation for  interest
   rates this slower trend is continuing.

    

   A crowded set of geo-political  considerations including the conflicts  in
   Ukraine and Gaza  and other  tensions in  the Middle  East combined  could
   continue to disrupt supply chains and commodity pricing that could  create
   increased volatility in the path of inflation and interest rates and  lead
   to investor hesitancy in real estate investments.

    

   In contrast with the investment market  we have seen a competitive  market
   in real estate credit for both acquisition and refinancings.  Last quarter
   we reported that the sentiment was meaningfully better than this time last
   year with a high  degree of confidence in  capital markets.  At that  time
   spread tightening  in  secondary trading  had  already showed  a  stronger
   market appetite  and  the banks  were  expecting healthy  volumes  of  new
   issuance being cleared efficiently and with further price tightening  also
   on the cards.

    

   While problem areas (such as  lower quality offices and distressed  thinly
   capitalised developers) will still need to be worked through, that general
   sentiment has played out as expected with a very strong start of the  year
   in capital markets.  This has been  seen across the board in bond  markets
   both in and outside  of the real estate  space.  The Investment Grade  and
   High  Yield  markets  are  off  to  strong  starts  and  in  real   estate
   specifically the US CMBS market has seen USD 19.5 billion of CMBS issuance
   in the first three months of the year which is an increase of 166 per cent
   versus USD 7.3 billion at the same time last year.  We have also seen  the
   predicted spread  tightening with  the Single  Asset Single  Borrower  AAA
   rated tranches having been  issued as tight as  140 basis points over  the
   benchmark interest rate versus low 200s at the end of last year.  

    

   While CMBS  and the  unsecured bond  markets play  a smaller  part in  the
   European commercial real estate  market, the health  of the public  credit
   markets have a knock on effect into general real estate finance  sentiment
   and we have seen  a similar dynamic in  the European loan markets.   There
   has been a larger number  of active loan requests  in the market and  with
   larger average loan sizes than we have seen over the last two years.   The
   market has been  competitive both  on pricing  and risk  relative to  last
   year.   Many of the larger transactions  are in the logistics and  student
   refinancing sectors  but we  are  also seeing  strong appetite  for  asset
   classes across the board  including demand for the  right types of  office
   with a good  example being the  £280 million refinancing  of the Blue  Fin
   building in London which closed in the first quarter.

    

   There are some  indicators that the  second quarter may  be more  measured
   than the first quarter.  The VIX is the popular name for the Chicago Board
   Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility  Index, which is  a popular measure  of
   the stock  market's  expectation of  volatility  based on  S&P  500  index
   options. The  VIX has  risen to  18.96 which  is the  highest level  since
   October 2023.We  have also  seen the  Itraxx Crossover  index which  is  a
   benchmark for crossover corporate credit retrace from a recent low of  290
   to 341. This  is still down  from a peak  of 473 in  October 2023 but  the
   recent change of direction  is notable. Expectations for  the pace of  the
   recovery in transaction volumes  continue to move  around as the  interest
   rate and geo-political outlook develops. 

    

   Investment Portfolio at 31 March 2024

    

   As at  31 March  2024, the  Group had  11 investments  and commitments  of
   £256.4 million as follows:

    

    

                                Sterling   Sterling equivalent Sterling Total
                      equivalent balance   unfunded commitment     (Drawn and
                                     (1)              (1), (2)      Unfunded)
   Hospitals, UK                 £25.0 m                              £25.0 m
   Hotel, Scotland               £42.6 m                              £42.6 m
   Hotel, North                  £15.0 m                              £15.0 m
   Berwick
   Life Science, UK              £15.5 m                £4.0 m        £19.5 m
   Hotel and Office,              £8.2 m                               £8.2 m
   Northern Ireland
   Hotels, United                £42.3 m                £8.4 m        £50.7 m
   Kingdom
   Industrial Estate,            £27.2 m               £19.0 m        £46.2 m
   UK
   Total Sterling               £175.8 m               £31.4 m       £207.2 m
   Loans
   Three Shopping                £11.4 m                              £11.4 m
   Centres, Spain
   Hotel, Dublin                  £9.4 m                               £9.4 m
   Office Portfolio,              £7.5 m                               £7.5 m
   Spain
   Office Portfolio,             £20.9 m                              £20.9 m
   Ireland
   Total Euro Loans              £49.2 m                              £49.2 m
   Total Portfolio              £225.0 m               £31.4 m       £256.4 m

    

    

    1. Euro balances translated to sterling at period end exchange rate.
    2. These amounts exclude interest which may be capitalised.

    

   Loan to Value (LTV)

    

   All assets securing the loans  undergo third party valuations before  each
   investment  closes  and  periodically  thereafter  at  a  time  considered
   appropriate by the lenders. The LTVs shown below are based on  independent
   third party  appraisals with  the exception  of one  loan which  has  been
   marked against the lower of the projected sale value (benchmarked  against
   the recent sales value realised)  and most recent third party  independent
   appraisal. The  current  weighted  average  age  of  the  dates  of  these
   valuations for the whole portfolio is just over eight months.

   On the  basis  of  the  methodology  and  valuation  processes  previously
   disclosed (see 30 September  2020 factsheet with  the exceptions as  noted
   above) at 31 March 2024  the Group has an average  last £ LTV of 57.9  per
   cent (31 December 2023: 61.8 per cent).

   The table below shows the sensitivity of the loan to value calculation for
   movements in the underlying property  valuation and demonstrates that  the
   Group has considerable headroom within the currently reported last LTVs.

    

   Change in Valuation Hospitality Office      Light Industrial & Other Total
                                                       Healthcare
   -15%                      63.4%  88.1%                   66.8% 67.7% 68.1%
   -10%                      59.9%  83.2%                   63.1% 64.0% 64.3%
   -5%                       56.7%  78.8%                   59.8% 60.6% 61.0%
   0%                        53.9%  74.9%                   56.8% 57.6% 57.9%
   5%                        51.3%  71.3%                   54.1% 54.8% 55.2%
   10%                       49.0%  68.1%                   51.6% 52.3% 52.6%
   15%                       46.9%  65.1%                   49.4% 50.1% 50.4%

    

   Share Price performance

    

   The Company's shares closed on 31 March 2024 at 92.2 pence, resulting in a
   share price total return for the first quarter of 2024 of 4.1 per cent. As
   at 31 March 2024, the discount to NAV stood at 11.7 per cent, with an
   average discount to NAV of 12.1 per cent over the quarter.

    

   Note: the 31 March 2024 discount to NAV is based off the current 31 March
   2024 NAV as reported in this factsheet.  All average discounts to NAV are
   calculated as the latest cum-dividend NAV available in the market on a
   given day, adjusted for any dividend payments from the ex-dividend date
   onwards.

    

    

    

    

    

    

   For further information, please contact:

    

   Apex Fund and Corporate Services (Guernsey) Limited    
   as Company Secretary
                                                          
   Duke Le Prevost
                                                         +44 (0)20 3530 3630
    
   Starwood Capital                                       

   Duncan MacPherson                                     +44 (0) 20 7016 3655
    

   Jefferies International Limited
                                                          
   Gaudi Le Roux
                                                          
   Harry Randall
                                                         +44 (0) 20 7029 8000
   Ollie Nott

    

   Buchanan        +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

   Helen Tarbet        +44 (0) 7788 528 143

   Henry Wilson

    

   Notes:

    

   Starwood European Real  Estate Finance  Limited is  an investment  company
   listed on  the premium  segment of  the main  market of  the London  Stock
   Exchange with an investment objective to conduct an orderly realisation of
   the assets of the Company.   2 www.starwoodeuropeanfinance.com.

    

   The Group's assets are managed by Starwood European Finance Partners
   Limited, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Starwood Capital
   Group.

   ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

   Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside
   information in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR),
   transmitted by EQS Group.
   The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

   ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

   ISIN:           GG00BRC3R375
   Category Code:  PFU
   TIDM:           SWEF
   LEI Code:       5493004YMVUQ9Z7JGZ50
   OAM Categories: 3.1. Additional regulated information required to be
                   disclosed under the laws of a Member State
   Sequence No.:   317753
   EQS News ID:    1888779


    
   End of Announcement EQS News Service

   ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

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