CEFC cornerstones first Investa Commercial Property Fund green bond with $19m commitment

13 April 2017

The CEFC has committed $19 million to Investa Commercial Property Fund's (ICPF) first Green Bond - a $100 million Australian dollar issuance certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative.

ICPF said the issuance closed oversubscribed and the strong level of interest received in the issuance clearly demonstrates the underlying quality of the ICPF portfolio and confidence in Investa's ongoing ability to deliver strong performance.

Proceeds from the bonds will be used to retire existing debt facilities and will be fully allocated against a portfolio of low carbon buildings in the ICPF's portfolio.

The 10-year bonds with a semi-annual fixed coupon of 4.25 per cent per annum are rated 'A-' by Standard & Poor's (S&P).

CEFC Executive Director and Debt Markets Lead Richard Lovell said: "We were pleased to work with Investa on this transaction, which continues its strong leadership in clean energy innovation in the commercial property sector and the green bond market."

"The transaction represents a significant step for the Australian dollar green bond market, with a 10-year tenor transaction. We expect to see the continued issuance of green bonds from high quality issuers across a range of sectors as key to developing the green bond investor base and the market as a whole."

The CEFC's cornerstone investment follows a similar transaction earlier this month when the CEFC committed $20 million towards a $150 million certified Australian dollar green bond by Investa Office Fund (IOF).

It also builds on an existing relationship with Investa Office Management aimed at pushing the boundaries of energy efficiency in commercial property. In December 2016, the CEFC announced its commitment of $110 million in equity as part of a $600 million capital raising for the $4.1 billion ICPF.

Investa is the first Australian property company to commit to a Science Based Target of net zero emissions by 2040 supported by a work plan of carbon reduction programs.

Read more about the ICPF green bond