GE Capital Real Estate, a subsidiary of General Electric, is set to finance Ares Real state Group’s £115 million acquisition of 10 Fleet Place in London, with a £72.5 million senior loan facility.

The five-year agreement, held at 63 per cent loan to value, is set to be agreed next week, after GE managed to win the contract ahead of a host of other lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group.

It has been reported that the margin on the loan is around the 200 basis point-mark over three-months, further evidence of what many perceive to be a contingency crackdown from lenders on prime City property.

Ares Real Estate, an international real estate equity and debt investor, must immediately secure lease renewals on the property at 10 Fleet Place in the City, with two thirds of the building occupied by its five largest tenants, with the passing rent currently at around £7.2 million per annum.

The five tenants are: Level 3 Communications, which currently occupies 33,000 sq ft; Mott MacDonald, which has 30,000 sq ft; CNBC Europe, Dow Jones and Kelway each have 19,000 sq ft.

The deal marks GE Capital’s second major purchase in the last month, after providing a £95 million refinancing facility to a self-storage company.

The Company, previously one of the world’s largest property investment groups, is looking to regain its position within the UK senior lending market, in an effort to build a more diversified loan portfolio.

GE Corporate outlined a strategic restructuring to its European business in August, with a detailed plan underlining plans to re-establish its property lending business in the UK.

Initially, GE Capital has been focussing on senior debt investments only, however the General Electric outfit has already detailed plans to branch out its European operation into mezzanine funding.

This latest deal sees Lloyds lose out on a major London contract, prompting fear amongst City analysts that the currently Government owned bank is failing to maintain a competitive proposition to the larger investment firms.