The Australian government’s green funding agency is investing AUD200m (€128m) in QIC’s Shopping Centre Fund (QSCF) to improve the energy efficiency of its assets.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will provide the senior debt facility to help support improvements in the fund’s shopping centres located in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
QIC Global Real Estate (QICGRE) will look to reduce energy consumption and will undertake customer engagement activities that inform shoppers of the initiatives.
Fund manager Michael Fattouh said: “This partnership with CEFC presents a unique opportunity to align QSCF’s capital management strategy, that seeks to diversify its sources of funding, with QICGRE’s broader ESG ambitions to drive sustainability initiatives and manage energy risk across our retail portfolio.”
Fattouh said: “The CEFC facility is also QSCF’s first green-debt facility and the first major investment CEFC has committed to the Australian retail sector, for which we are extremely proud.
“QSCF is also commencing work with the CEFC to understand potential pathways to achieving net zero carbon emissions across its portfolio, building on QICGRE’s recently announced target of generating 30% of all base load power for retail asset common areas from renewable energy by 2025.”
CEFC’s investment in QSCF is the largest property investment commitment to date. The agency was established in 2013 to foster and promote decarbonisation of the Australian economy.
Previous beneficiaries include Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF) and EG Funds Management.
