{"id":7061,"date":"2024-04-19T09:04:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T07:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sareit.co.za\/?p=7061"},"modified":"2024-04-19T09:04:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T07:04:30","slug":"vukile-secures-r1-1bn-in-green-and-sustainability-linked-funding-with-absa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/vukile-secures-r1-1bn-in-green-and-sustainability-linked-funding-with-absa\/","title":{"rendered":"Vukile secures R1.1bn in green and sustainability-linked funding with Absa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Vukile Property Fund (JSE: VKE), the specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT) has secured R1.1bn of funding through an innovative green loan and sustainability-linked loan with Absa. The loans, which are refinancing existing debt facilities, will be enabled as part of the refinancing process of existing debt and will be specifically directed to Vukile\u2019s solar PV project and linked to its sustainability targets. The goals include reducing carbon emissions, boosting water savings and educating property professionals \u2014 initiatives that benefit the environment and society and align with Vukile\u2019s wider environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vukile\u2019s approach to sustainability is ingrained into its culture with transparent measurement and reporting of sustainability targets to ensure alignment of its ESG strategy throughout the organisation. This supported the efficient and creative funding solution with Absa, which promotes greater alignment of Vukile\u2019s financial strategy to positive environmental and social outcomes, where interest rates are directly linked to the achievement of preset targets.<\/p>\n<p>Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile Property Fund, comments, \u201cThis sustainability-linked loan is a first for Vukile and represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to sustainability.\u201d<br \/>\nThrough its expertise and commitment to sustainable finance, Absa played a crucial role as lender and sole sustainability coordinator, ensuring alignment with the Loan Market Associations\u2019 Green Loan and Sustainability Linked Loan Principles.<\/p>\n<p>Heidi Barends, Head of Sustainable Finance for Absa, says, \u201cWe partnered with Vukile to ensure market leading performance indicators are set for this funding solution, that are relevant to their sector and aligns to their business strategy. By combining environmental and social objectives, we\u2019ve set a new standard for sustainable investment. Vukile is clearly committed to sustainability and we\u2019re proud to have advised it on this strategic transaction. Our guidance throughout underscores our commitment to driving meaningful change in the financial landscape.<br \/>\nMaurice Shapiro, Group Head of Treasury of Vukile, remarks, \u201cAs our partners and a key stakeholder, Absa played an important role in delivering a fit-for-purpose innovative solution that helps align Vukile\u2019s funding strategy with its ESG goals. Vukile is committed to making a difference for our communities, and we are pleased to partner with Absa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vukile is committed to advancing its positive impacts through renewable resources, water-saving initiatives and education of property professionals, in line with its well-defined business strategy, based on the belief that thriving communities create successful shopping centres.<\/p>\n<p>Rapp concludes, \u201cVukile aims to drive economic growth and be a change agent for social well-being and environmental stewardship, which ultimately assists our customers, our tenants and our business. We are committed to leading the way in sustainability and reporting openly about our practices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a specialist retail REIT, Vukile was developed on the foundation of a well-defined, specialised growth strategy, with a focus on owning dominant retail assets across South Africa and Spain. Vukile\u2019s assets are valued at around R40 billion, with 40% in South Africa and 60% in Spain. The Spanish assets are held in the 99.5% Vukile-owned Madrid-listed subsidiary, Castellana Properties Socimi. Vukile adopts a proactive approach to asset management and a strong focus on customer centricity as the driver of stakeholder value creation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nImage: Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile Property Fund<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vukile Property Fund (JSE: VKE), the specialist retail real estate investment trust (REIT) has secured R1.1bn of funding through an innovative green loan and sustainability-linked loan with Absa. The loans, which are refinancing existing debt facilities, will be enabled as part of the refinancing process of existing debt and will be specifically directed to Vukile\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-members-news"],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Laurence-Rapp-CEO-of-Vukile-1140x445.jpg",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Laurence-Rapp-CEO-of-Vukile-463x348.jpg",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Laurence-Rapp-CEO-of-Vukile-300x143.jpg",300,143,true],"full":["https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Laurence-Rapp-CEO-of-Vukile.jpg",1500,717,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muddev.co.za\/sareit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}