EFG Hermes’ leasing and factoring arm has signed an EGP 750 mn sale and leaseback agreement with Misr Italia Properties to refinance its Garden 8 Mall in New Cairo, EFG Hermes Corp-Solutions announced in a statement (pdf).

Misr Italia will direct the funds to other projects: The money raised through the sale and leaseback of Garden 8 Mall will be directed to expansion in “higher growth areas of the business,” according to Misr Italia CEO Mohamed Hany El Assal. He noted that the advantage of this kind of financing is that the company can “generate significant proceeds while essentially maintaining long-term control of value-generating facilities.” The statement did not specify the duration of the lease agreement.

EFG likes commercial property: The leaseback agreement comes as EFG Hermes Corp-Solutions looks to expand its business in commercial real estate financing. “The commercial real estate sector in Egypt continues to benefit from strong demand driven by solid retail growth,” company CEO Talal Elayat said in the statement, describing the agreement with Misr Italia as a “compelling [chance] for us to add high-quality, income-generating assets to our portfolio.”