Globe Trade Centre has successfully issued a debut unsecured green bond for €500 million.
The bonds, maturing on the 23rd of June 2026 and bearing a coupon of 2.25% per annum, received a strong reception from the broad European fixed-income investor universe and were several times oversubscribed with a peak order book of more than of €1.4 billion.
The successfull placement of the first green bonds underlines Globe Trade Centre’s solid market position following its recently obtained investment grade rating of BBB- with a ‘Stable Outlook’ by Fitch and Ba1 rating with a ‘Positive Outlook’ by Moody’s.
“Strong momentum saw books multiple times covered within just a few hours of launch, with the book attracting orders from over 120 high-quality accounts across Continental Europe and the United Kingdom. Despite a busy market with ample real estate supply, the transaction attracted strong investor demand with books peaking more than €1.4 billion. This is a successful debut issue for Globe Trade Centre” comments Ariel Ferstman, GTC’s CFO and Member of the Management Board.
“Delivering a benchmark international Eurobond in green format highlights our long-term commitment to sustainability, further evidenced by the fact that 84% of our assets carry green certification”.
Globe Trade Centre chose to issue these green bonds following its commitment to certify its office and retail portfolio with the most recognizable LEED, BREEAM and DGNB certificates. An amount equivalent to the net proceeds from the issue will be used to refinance a portfolio of eligible green assets as outlined in the company’s Green Bond Framework as well as financing eligible projects going forward. Currently, 84% of Globe Trade Centre’s income-generating portfolio worth €1.9 billion carries green certifications. As recently announced in the company’s first-ever ESG report, the group plans to achieve 100% green certification for all their properties in Central and Eastern Europe. This has already happened in Poland, where all Globe Trade Centre offices have environmental certificates and are powered by green energy.
J.P. Morgan, who acted as joint global coordinator, sole ratings advisor and green structuring agent, notes: “This successful inaugural transaction on the international debt capital markets highlights Globe Trade Centre’s compelling credit story and commitment to being part of the green solution. The deal is the culmination of several months of intensive preparations, including Globe Trade Centre obtaining an investment-grade rating by an international rating agency for the first time“.
Morgan Stanley, who acted as joint global coordinator says: “Strong momentum saw books covered within an hour of launch, with the book attracting orders from over 120 accounts“.
The refinancing of secured loans with the green bonds follows Globe Trade Centre’s strategy to transition to a predominantly unsecured debt funding model. The green bond issuance will enable the company to prepay a multitude of secured loans that will release around €840 million of currently encumbered assets and significantly reduce the group’s consolidated secured leverage ratio.
The issue achieved strong sponsorship from real money accounts, selling primarily to Fund Managers (85%), with most of the demand coming from the United Kingdom (56%) and Continental Europe, including DACH (19%), Benelux (7%) and CEE (5%).
