Flexible office provider Workspace has raised £300m with its first green bond.
Workspace issued the bonds as part of its “Do The Right Thing” ESG strategy, and will use the proceeds for green refurbishment and redevelopment projects.
The seven-year paper was priced at 2.25% and will trade on Euronext Dublin. The bonds are expected to receive a rating of BBB from S&P.
Chief financial officer Dave Benson said the deal had received a “strong level of institutional demand” during the roadshow.
“This illustrates that fixed-income investors recognise the resilience of our business model and the enduring appeal of our unique offering of high-quality, flexible workspace for London-based small and medium-sized businesses,” he said, adding that the bond issue “underscores our commitment to sustainable investment and development practices”.
Karen Jamison, Workspace’s head of sustainability, added: “We acknowledge the climate emergency that we are all facing and the role that we have to play as an owner and operator of London office space to reduce carbon emissions. We are making significant progress towards our commitment to becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030 and this inaugural green bond issuance will support our work to create energy efficient buildings.”
The deal lifts Workspace’s average debt maturity to 4.9 years from 3.9 and reduces the company’s average cost of debt to 3.6%.
Santander and NatWest Markets acted as joint lead managers and joint green structuring advisers, while Rothschild was independent financial adviser for the deal.
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