Business
GPE signs innovative £450 million ESG-linked RCF
GPE signs innovative £450 million ESG-linked RCF.
About this update from Great Portland Estates Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 1005C Great Portland Estates PLC 06 February 2020 \n\n6 February 2020\nGPE signs innovative £450 million ESG-linked Revolving Credit Facility\nGreat Portland Estates plc (\"GPE\" or the \"Group\") announces that it has signed a £450 million ESG-linked unsecured revolving credit facility (\"RCF\") at a headline margin of 90 basis points over LIBOR with a group of five existing relationship banks. The facility has an initial five-year term which may be extended to a maximum of seven years at GPE's request, subject to bank consent. \nThis innovative facility, the first to be issued by a UK REIT, incorporates three ESG-linked KPIs which align with our ambitious sustainability strategy, including our participation in the Better Buildings Partnership Climate Change Commitment which we signed in late 2019. These KPIs include annual pre-agreed targets and are based on: \n· Supporting our target to decarbonise our existing buildings by reducing our portfolio energy intensity by 40% by 2030;\n· Supporting our target to build net zero carbon new buildings from 2030 by reducing the embodied carbon of our new build developments and major refurbishments; and \n· Providing better quality urban greening measures by increasing the biodiversity net gain across our portfolio. \nThese targets will further incentivise the Group to accelerate the decarbonisation of our business and will support continued behavioural change within the Group and across our supply chain. \nFrom May 2021, we will measure performance against each KPI annually. A margin decrease or increase of up to 2.5 basis points will be applied to the headline margin on the basis of this performance. All margin adjustments will be given by GPE to registered charities focused on environmental initiatives. \nThis facility is fully available for general corporate purposes, includes our standard unsecured financial covenants and is an amendment and extension of the Group's £450 million RCF signed in October 2018, which had a headline margin of 92.5 basis points. \nThe participating banks are Santander, NatWest, Wells Fargo, Lloyds Bank plc and Bank of China. Santander acted as the Sustainability Co-ordinator. \nMartin Leighton, Director of Corporate Finance commented, \"We are ...