Frasers Property has secured a £100 mln (€120 mln) five-year green revolving credit facility to finance the development of The Rowe, a commercial redevelopment in Whitechapel, London.
The facility is the group’s first green development loan in the UK.
The Rowe is a redevelopment of the Aldgate Bauhaus and was the former home to London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design. Six additional storeys will be added to the building, for a total footprint of 162,000 sq. ft. (15,050 m2) of workspace and over 17,000 sq. ft. of outdoor terraces, including an exceptional communal roof garden that will be open all year round.
Martin Ratchford, Chief Financial Officer at Frasers Property UK, said: ‘Developing The Rowe is an important step for FPUK in achieving our goal to be net zero by 2050, and our ability to raise this £100 mln sustainability linked loan is key to being able to finance our portfolio with green and sustainable financing.’
The building is planned to complete in Q3 2022, and this month celebrates its ‘topping out’.
Frasers Property is committed to achieving net-zero carbon by 2050 and to be climate resilient by establishing mitigation and adaptation plans by the end of this year. In the UK, the business is targeting net-zero carbon across operational areas of control by 2030, to certify 80% of its portfolio with green building certifications by 2024 and to finance most of its portfolio with green and sustainable financing.
