Aviva Investors has provided an additional £57m (€66.3m) loan to listed UK-based logistics properties investor Urban Logistics REIT.

The global asset manager has provided the nine-year facility secured against a portfolio of 10 logistics assets across the UK.

The loan agreement also includes a commitment from Urban Logistics REIT to undertake sustainability improvements across the 10 assets, as well as 23 additional properties from previous tranches of financing that were not sustainability-linked, Aviva said.

The latest transaction is the fifth financing made since the two businesses established a lending relationship in March 2021.

”As a result, the entire lending programme between the two businesses is now aligned with Aviva Investors’ sustainable transition loans framework, as well as Urban Logistics’ own ESG targets,” Aviva added.

The sustainable transition loans framework which was launched in 2020 with a plan to originate £1bn in sustainable transition real estate debt by 2025, surpassed its initial target in May 2022.

Gregor Bamert, the head of real estate debt at Aviva Investors, said: “We are happy to extend our lending programme with Urban Logistics through this new loan, but also to have brought everything under our sustainable transition loans framework, showing its commitment to continue enhancing the sustainability credentials of its assets.

“Despite relatively subdued activity in the lending market, this agreement shows that opportunities still exist to invest with established and high-quality borrowers.”

Bamert added that the REIT’s asset management capabilities and focus on improving sustainability across its portfolio provide a ”solid foundation for growing lending activity with this sector”.

Richard Moffitt, Urban Logistics REIT CEO, said: “In challenging economic times, we focus on our area of expertise – active asset management of single let, last-mile logistics. To enable us to do this, we have worked with Aviva Investors for a number of years, taking out competitively priced, fixed-term debt, reducing the REIT’s exposure to interest rate volatility.

”This refinance allows us to do exactly this, moving the total debt book to an all-in cost of 4.2%, 93% hedged or fixed to term, while the sustainability link further embeds our ESG targets across the business.”

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