European convenience real estate investor Mitiska Reim has secured €110 mln in green loan financing agreements with KBC Bank, in several transactions.
These include €58 mln to refinance Malinas retail park in Belgium and a further €42 mln to fund acquisition opportunities in the Netherlands.
Located in Mechelen, Malinas opened in October last year and is the most sustainable retail park in Belgium, designed to be CO2 neutral and to achieve an Excellent score on the BREEAM scale.
In the Netherlands, Mitiska currently has a portfolio of three retail parks, with one so far achieving a Very Good BREEAM rating, and has built a pipeline of convenience real estate investment opportunities in joint venture with local operating partners.
Bert Heyman, CFO at Mitiska, said: 'Securing these green loans is an important milestone in our ESG programme and a clear sign of the opportunity that Mitiska REIM now has to access green loan financing across our convenience real estate investments.
'At present, a quarter of our debt portfolio is in the form of green loans and our aim is to establish a broader green financing framework in which to increase the number of green loans across the 10 European markets in which we operate.'
Kim Creten, director at KBC Real Estate, said: 'We are delighted to partner with Mitiska REIM and support them to incorporate sustainability features into their long-term bank financing.
'Mitiska REIM is a great example of a company that has a strong commitment to ESG and sustainability and can now successfully leverage this in the green loans market.'
As part of its wider ESG initiatives, Mitiska increased its number of BREEAM In-Use certifications to 45% in 2021 and is on track to increase this to 85% in 2022.
The green loans distinguish themselves from conventional loans by including climate risk elements in the financing frameworks, with the availability of financing now clearly linked to factors such as minimum BREEAM scores, CRREM decarbonisation pathways, restriction to build in high-flood risk areas and reporting of energy consumption data.
One of the structures also includes a margin pricing grid in relation to the BREEAM score obtained, thus creating a financial incentive to maximize the BREEAM rating.
