Lenders ING and UniCredit have issued a €130 mln ‘green’ loan for a mixed-use asset in Milan which is managed by Hines.
The five-year loan has been issued to BVK Highstreet Retail Cordusio Spa, owner of Cordusio 2.0, a 11,160 m2 mixed-use office and retail building located in Piazza Cordusio 2.
The loan has been structured according to the Green Loan Principles issued by the Loan Market Association, and reflects the characteristics of the building’s LEED GOLD sustainability certification.
Cordusio 2.0 went through an intensive capex programme between 2017 and 2019, enabling it to achieve the highest quality standards in terms of energy efficiency and allowing the ING/UniCredit loan to be classified as a ‘Green Loan’. The property has an irregular floor plan in line with the shape of the Piazza Cordusio and is let to national and international tenants including Uniqlo and Bain&Co.
Green finance is gaining ground in the real estate sector as banks and sponsors seek to meet carbon reduction and sustainability targets in line with global climate change goals.
ING Real Estate Finance has more than €1.5 bn of assets on its books in Italy, of which around 40% are properties certified as sustainable in terms of technical, structural and energy characteristics.
The bank has set itself the goal of directing its global loan portfolio of around €700 bn towards the target, established by the Paris Agreement, of reducing global warming ‘well below 2°C’.
UniCredit is similarly working to align its credit portfolios with the Paris Agreement climate scenarios. The bank aims to establish itself as one of the top five lenders in EMEA for green bonds and sustainability-linked loans by 2023.
