Colonial and its French subsidiary SFL have converted all the bonds that the group currently has in circulation, for a total aggregate amount of 4,602 million euros, into green bonds.
With this operation, the socimi becomes the first Ibex-35 company to have all of its bonds classified as "green", and its intention is that the bonds that are issued in the future be made under the reference framework of green financing (green financing framework).
The group reaches this milestone after guaranteeing the holding of a portfolio of environmentally sustainable investments with a value equal to or greater than 4,602 million euros of its financing via bonds.
And the fact is that, for Colonial, green bonds constitute "an alternative to company financing in an environment in which companies' awareness of sustainability issues is becoming increasingly important".
"We are very satisfied with the willingness shown by the markets to join us in our firm commitment to sustainability," explains Carmina Ganyet, Colonial's corporate general manager. In her opinion, the reclassification of outstanding bonds as "green" and the issuance of new bonds under this category represents "a competitive advantage and an attractive investment for the capital market, whose interest in this type of investment is bigger time".
Currently, 93% of the group's office portfolio has sustainability certifications, a percentage well above the average for the sector in Europe, and it has set itself the challenge of being emission neutral by 2050.
For now, the international organization CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) has awarded Colonial its highest “A” rating for its decarbonisation policy. And the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark), the main ESG index in the real estate sector, places the company at the head of its European ranking, giving it 94 out of 100 possible points. In addition, it has been recognized with the EPRA Sustainability Best Practices in 2021 for the sixth consecutive year.
The conversion of the current bonds to green ones will not imply changes in any other of their characteristics, either in their terms and conditions, interest or maturities, informs the company, which, to carry out this operation, has contracted Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as advisers.
At the close of last September, the group had a net debt of 4,645 million euros, of which 2,812 million corresponded to bonds issued by Colonial and another 1,290 million to SFL bonds, to which must be added the 500 million issued in October 2021. Its loan to value at the end of September 30, 2021 is around 37%.
