BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 17, 2026--
Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it has arranged a €118,750,000 loan to refinance Zuiderpoort, an office complex in Ghent, Belgium.
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Walker & Dunlop EMEA Capital Markets arranged the transaction on behalf of funds managed by Blue Colibri Capital. Claudio Sgobba, Jessica Bell, and Patrick Smith led the senior loan refinancing, with debt capital provided by a group of institutional banks.
The six-building, 10-storey property consists of approximately 63,000 square meters of rentable office space strategically located in Ghent. Since 2022, Zuiderpoort has been transformed from a traditional office property into an active tenant community through its innovative ‘social’ approach, supporting tenant attraction and retention.
The transaction involved a refinancing of a multi-leased asset anchored by a strong tenant covenant, with the Belgian State (AA-rated) contributing 40% of income under a 12-year firm lease, delivering exceptional cash-flow stability. The financing will also be partially used to support the installation of a new state of the art HVAC system, enabling the building to become fossil-fuel free, giving the sponsor full flexibility to conclude its ESG-focused business plan while enhancing long-term asset value.
“The deal was completed through a successful six-bank consortium at 65% LTV and a highly competitive spread. This was an exceptional outcome in the European office financing market and a true outlier result achieved through significant effort,” said Sgobba, senior managing director, co-head EMEA Capital Markets at Walker & Dunlop. “This offering is distinctive within the European office market, and we are proud to have been selected to help bring this transaction to completion.”
Zuiderpoort had already been repositioned into a highly sustainable, community-driven office campus through a comprehensive upgrade programme. The property achieved BREEAM Excellent and WELL Core Platinum certifications, supported by major investments in energy efficiency, water management, and building systems. Mobility and accessibility were enhanced through strong public transport connections, extensive bicycle infrastructure, LED implementation, and EV charging. These sustainability-led improvements are complemented by upgraded shared amenities, wellness offerings, and activated indoor and outdoor spaces, strengthening tenant engagement and supporting rental growth, with new leases achieving 25–30% premiums over 2020–2021 levels. In particular, a 3-year capex program has been performed within a fully occupied environment to provide the Belgian State with brand new office space in line with their newly developed new way of working guidelines and dynamic office policy.
“When we visited the property five years ago, we immediately saw the significant potential to create a truly different office experience that would offer a unique value proposition for tenants while proving that existing buildings can be brought to the highest levels of environmental performance," said Alim Vandeweyer, partner at Blue Colibri Capital. “The Ghent office market, as we believed initially, has continued to show tremendous growth, which is expected to continue, with a significant demand coming from the Tech industry. W&D has been instrumental in the successful outcome of this refinancing and the quality and dedication shown by the whole team was highly appreciated.”
About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States and internationally. Our ideas and capital create communities where people live, work, shop, and play. Our innovative people, breadth of our brand, and our technological capabilities make us one of the most insightful and client-focused firms in the commercial real estate industry.
Zuiderpoort. Photo Credit: Blue Colibri Capital
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Wednesday as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% below its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.
Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rallied 7.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% and is on track to set an all-time high.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.1% to $95.48 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell even more, 4.2%, to $89.69 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.
Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.
Bath & Body Works rallied 11.2%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 11.8% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That's even as U.S. consumers continue to say they're feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.
Lululemon Athletica rose 3.6% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick's Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.9% despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.
Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.4%, and Chevron slipped 0.8%. Halliburton dropped 3% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48% from 4.50% late Tuesday and from 4.67% roughly a week ago.
It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi was one of the world's best performers and jumped 2.3% after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3%.
A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
