NEW YORK and LONDON-Situs, a leading global real estate advisory firm, has been named as Servicer and Special Servicer for the $404 million (£263M) Debussy DTC PLC Commercial Mortgage Backed Security (CMBS) on the Toys “R” Us UK portfolio.

This transaction represents the first secondary commercial property portfolio to return to European securitization markets since the global financial crisis. Situs' appointment will build on its growing market leadership in servicing European securitizations, a nod to its strong reputation in providing innovative solutions on similar transactions in Europe and the US.

Toys “R” Us refinanced the matured Vanwall transaction in April 2013 with an initial seven-year fixed rate bridge loan. The loan has subsequently been securitised into the Debussy DTC PLC CMBS issuance on July 24, with the transaction having been tailored by the lending requirements of Toys “R” Us and the underlying noteholders. The securitization has been structured by Cairn Capital as arranger with the transaction comprising three classes of bonds A, B and C with ratings provided by Standard & Poor's and DBRS to the class A Notes.

“As European markets stabilise, investors are looking for growth, so it is inevitable that the focus will start to shift from prime assets to secondary assets,” stated Bruce Nelson, chief operating officer of Situs. “With the introduction of the Debussy DTC PLC CMBS transaction, hopefully we will see this kick-start the financing of other challenging asset classes, and show an evident recovery in the European securitization markets. In conjunction with Cairn Capital, we are working to help our industry and the market by being flexible and innovative in adopting new structures, taking on more responsibilities and providing better reporting and transparency to the market, helping instil confidence.”

Situs' European servicing operations are primarily run and managed out of London, with some assets and portfolios overseen by Situs Global Servicing subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany.

Situs has over $34 billion (€22 billion) in primary servicing, and is one of the largest third-party servicers in Europe. Since the beginning of 2012, it has been named the primary and/or special servicer on the majority of the securitizations issued, including Merry Hill Deco 2012, Florentia 2012, Taurus 2013 GMFI, Chiswick-Deco 2013, and Debussy DTC PLC transactions. As Special Servicer, it is responsible for over $1 billion (€700M) of troubled assets.