Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo office, has advised Banque Misr and a consortium of seven participating banks as lenders in connection with a real estate financing to Palm Hills Developments, one of Cairo-based largest real estate developers led by Egyptian billionaire Yasseen Mansour. The consortium includes National Bank of Egypt, Banque du Caire (BDC), Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Ahli United Bank (AUB), Al Baraka Bank and Industrial Development Bank. The banks signed a loan agreement valued at EGP 10.3 billion ($212.3 million) on 2 October, 2024 marking the largest real estate finance deal in the Egyptian market, specifically for the development of ‘Badya’ project, one of Egypt’s largest real estate projects and one of the country’s impressive smart cities.

The financing is structured as a long-term syndicated loan, which will be used to finance part of the investment costs for this ambitious project.

Mostafa Lotayef, Banking and Finance Counsel at Helmy, Hamza & Partners, who led the Baker McKenzie Cairo team on the transaction, commented: “We are proud to support Banque Misr and the consortium in this landmark financing. The ‘Badya’ project represents the largest real estate finance deal in the Egyptian market so far and marks a significant step forward in Egypt’s real estate sector, and we are excited to be part of its development.”

The Cairo team was led by Counsel Mostafa Lotayef and supported by Senior Associate Milad Fayez and Associates Hania Meshref and Omar Mahmoud.

This deal adds to the extensive list of transactions on which Baker McKenzie Cairo has advised on in the real estate financing space, including most recently advising Banque Misr and Commercial International Bank Egypt (“CIB”) in connection with a real estate financing to Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (“SODIC”) valued at EGP 4.14 billion.