The Bonds, which will be listed on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and admitted to trading on the Main Market and the Sustainable Bond Market of the London Stock Exchange, will bear interest at a rate of 1.875% per annum and are expected to be A rated by Fitch Ratings Ltd.
The net proceeds of the Bonds will initially be used to repay amounts drawn under the Group’s revolving credit facilities, including the £300m green tranche, thereby refinancing eligible green projects (“EGPs”) in line with our Green Finance Framework (“GFF”). Subsequently, the net proceeds will be deployed into additional qualifying expenditure on EGPs. First published in October 2019, the GFF was updated in February 2020 and again in November 2021. The GFF is aligned with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles 2021 and supports our pathway to net zero carbon by 2030. Current projects on site include Soho Place W1, The Featherstone Building EC1, Francis House SW1 and 19-35 Baker Street W1. As at 30 June 2021, outstanding capex on these schemes was £411m, the majority of which is expected to qualify as eligible green expenditure under the GFF.
Damian Wisniewski, Chief Financial Officer of Derwent London, said:
“We are delighted by the strong support for our first green bond which has seen Derwent London obtain £350m of long-term debt at attractive pricing of 1.875%. This has extended our weighted average debt maturity to over 7 years. The bonds will help fund our current net zero carbon projects and form part of our pathway to becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030.”
Barclays, HSBC, NatWest Markets and Wells Fargo Securities acted as Joint Active Bookrunners with Barclays and HSBC as Joint Green Structuring Agents. Rothschild & Co acted as Financial Adviser.