The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested €20 million into a 7-year €230 million green bond issued by Lamda Development S.A., a leading Greek real estate developer specialising in the development, investment, and management of real estate assets.
On 26 July the EBRD released the project summary documents announcing its participation, which was officially signed and approved on 6 July.
The bond is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and is the first ever green bond issued by Lamda.
Proceeds from the new green bond will be invested solely into green investments including sustainable buildings and urban landscapes, green energy, and smart technology.
€20 million from the green bond, an amount equivalent to that invested by EBRD, will be earmarked to finance new green-certified assets that meet the LEED ‘Gold’ or BREEAM ‘Very Good’ levels.
Lamda’s current investment portfolio includes three retail centres with gross leaseable areas of 157,000 square meters, as well as smaller investments in other real estate assets.
According to the EBRD, the development bank’s participation will provide several additional benefits to the Green Bond initiative.
These added benefits include:
- risk mitigation: as it sends a confirming signal towards the re-opening of the domestic debt capital markets, whose activity was halted in 2022 due to the global instability,
- an innovative instrument: as it supports an innovative green finance instrument integrating climate and environmental considerations of urban regeneration, and
- standard setting: as it encourages Lamda to achieve higher level building certifications.
In addition to meeting the green building certification requirements for mitigation, the project will include climate resilience measures into the design to address climate adaptation vulnerabilities.
This is not Lamda’s first time using debt instruments to allow multiple investors to play a role in financing their projects.
In July 2020, Lamda issued a €320 million common bond loan providing the opportunity to more than 10,000 Greek investors to help fund the company’s Ellinikon project, which aims to transform the former Athens airport into a sustainable commercial, residential, and hospitality area.
This project will be characterised by the implementation of an eco-friendly design based on the principles of sustainability.
This comes as part of Lamda’s commitment to set environmental and social responsibility as one of the main components of its business and commercial operations, something that it is continuing with this latest green bond offering.
