NEPI Rockcastle obtained a green loan worth 60 million euros, for Ploiesti Shopping City, from a banking syndicate led by BRD Groupe Société Générale.
BRD acted as the mandated lead arranger, green financing structuring, security agent and creditor, leading the banking syndicate which also included Alpha Bank S.A. (Greece) as lead arranger and Alpha Bank S.A., Luxembourg branch, as creditor.
The financing comes three months after NEPI Rockcastle took over the 50% stake in Ploiesti Shopping City from its partner, through a transaction of 55.5 million euros. The loan was signed in December 2022.
“Bank financing is an attractive alternative at the moment, and NEPI Rockcastle has good and long-standing relationships with its banking partners. “Green” credits reflect our commitment to improve the sustainability of the group’s portfolio and reduce our carbon footprint. As we announced, in Romania, the largest market in which NEPI Rockcastle operates, we are in the process of reducing the impact of our portfolio on the environment by installing photovoltaic panels, thus increasing the proportion of renewable energy used“, stated Eliza Predoiu, Chief Financial Officer, NEPI Rockcastle.
“We are happy to once again contribute to the financing of another important project of our long-term partner, NEPI Rockcastle. For us, the project is also important from another perspective: through this operation, we continue to integrate ESG principles into our lending activity, thus completing a longer list, which also includes the most important green loan granted so far in Romania, and we are taking another step towards achieving our strategic goal of providing sustainable financing of one billion euros by 2025. We are ready to finance the transition and development of our clients and have the necessary know-how to ensure and implement all related parameters of sustainability, in financing operations”, said Maria Rousseva, Deputy General Director of BRD, responsible for the bank’s corporate banking activities.
International law firm CMS has advised a banking syndicate, on all aspects of the transaction to reach the financial closing.
Ana Radnev, partner and coordinator of the banking and finance team at CMS Romania, said: ”CMS expertise in the field of green and sustainable finance is an asset to our clients, both locally and internationally. We are delighted to have assisted BRD and Alpha Bank on this project, including on aspects related to the green loan.”