Savills IM refinances two assets with one of Italy's first ever 'green' loans
20 October 2020
Savills Investment Management (Savills IM), the international real estate investment manager, has refinanced two assets held within its managed European Commercial Fund (ECF) via one of the first ever ‘green’ loans to be issued in Italy.
The loan has been secured on the Fidenza retail park near Parma and the U4 Assago office building in Milan. ING acted as sole lender, extending an existing facility, and advised Savills IM in the green loan structuring.
Savills IM on behalf of ECF purchased the Fidenza retail park in 2011 and the Assago building in 2015.
Green loans are any type of loan instrument made available exclusively to finance or refinance, in whole or part, new or pre-existing ‘green’ projects. Examples include environmentally friendly buildings that meet regional, national or internationally recognised standards or certifications. The green loan principles (GLP) were established by a working party of representatives from leading financial institutions active in the global syndicated loan markets in order to promote the development and integrity of green loans.
The ECF portfolio meets the GLP criteria thanks to efforts by Savills IM’s asset management team to improve its ESG credentials. This included achieving an LEED ‘Gold’ certification for the Assago office building and installing LED lighting and an electric-vehicle charging station in the Fidenza retail park.
Cristiano Ronchi, Head of Italy, Savills IM, commented:
“Environmental, social and governance considerations are of paramount importance to Savills IM and play an important role in our investment decisions and ownership practices. Securing this green loan demonstrates yet again that we are a leading ESG player in Italy’s real estate investment market. I would like to thank ING, with whom we have successfully worked since 2005 on many financings, for their collaboration on this green initiative.”
The Savills IM European Commercial Fund is a Luxembourg FCP-SIF for German institutional investors. Since its launch in 2008, the fund has regularly outperformed various benchmark indices and offers investors further return opportunities. The success of the distribution-orientated fund is based on its broad diversification across the office, retail and logistics sectors as well as its concentration on the economically strong cities and regions of Western Europe. The fund holds a total of 19 properties in eight countries with a market value of over EUR 800 million.
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