Flurry of deals see £825m of green finance
The market for green financing is booming with close to £825m of sustainability-linked funding secured across four deals in the past few weeks.
The biggest deal agreed was for Qatari Diar, which has secured £450m of green finance from Credit Suisse, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Qatar National Bank and United Overseas Bank to fund the construction of its redevelopment of the former US Embassy on Grosvenor Square, W1.
The deal represents the first UK green deal for Singapore-based United Overseas Bank. The bank has financed almost £3bn of green-certified buildings around the world since December last year but is anticipating an uptick in green financing deals.
The market for green financing is booming with close to £825m of sustainability-linked funding secured across four deals in the past few weeks.
The biggest deal agreed was for Qatari Diar, which has secured £450m of green finance from Credit Suisse, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Qatar National Bank and United Overseas Bank to fund the construction of its redevelopment of the former US Embassy on Grosvenor Square, W1.
The deal represents the first UK green deal for Singapore-based United Overseas Bank. The bank has financed almost £3bn of green-certified buildings around the world since December last year but is anticipating an uptick in green financing deals.
Lim Lay Wah, global head of financial institutions group at the bank, said: “We expect to see continued interest as more companies turn to green financing tools to create a positive impact both environmentally and socially. This will in turn enable us to forge a sustainable future together with our clients as we connect them to business opportunities in Asia and globally and support them for the long term.”
HSBC, which acted as green loan co-ordinator for the syndicate of banks, said the new deal enabled it to move closer to its global ambition of facilitating between $750bn (£530bn) and $1tn of sustainable financing and investment by 2030.
Elsewhere, Allianz Real Estate has granted 78% of a €185m (£159m) loan, with BNP Paribas Real Estate, to finance a new green development in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The 315,000 sq ft mixed-used development, being brought forward by Icawood, aims to use timber-frame construction to reduce its carbon footprint.
Roland Fuchs, head of European real estate finance for Allianz Real Estate, said: “Green financing has become increasingly important to us as we direct more of our lending toward future-focused assets. This new financing with Icawood is an excellent example of the type of asset that will further strengthen the resilience of our loan portfolio, which has shown itself to be consistently resilient throughout the current pandemic.”
Back in the UK, social housing firm Origin has secured £120m of investment via a green private placement with four North American investors, while Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, has lined up a three-year, £95m facility with NatWest, Lloyds Bank, Santander and HSBC.
Chief executive Kate Lawlor said the new loan gave the business “the platform to accelerate our growth responsibly and sustainably, and perfectly aligns with our pledge to be net zero carbon by 2030”.
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