Frasers Property Australia has secured a new five-year A$340-million and US$75-million syndicated sustainability-linked loan, taking the proportion of total sustainability-linked corporate facilities for Frasers Property Limited’s Australian platform to 100 per cent.
As at mid-2022, the proportion of funds Frasers Property had secured from sustainability-linked sources in Australia was 86 per cent, which led the industry at the time.
For the company to achieve 100 per cent of its funding through sustainability-linked sources is particularly impressive given the elevated sustainability standards demanded of its portfolio to secure such a facility.
Frasers Property Australia Chief Financial Officer Anita Hoskins said: “Green finance is an evolving market and it requires a genuine commitment both from organisations seeking finance and potential lenders to work together to achieve shared goals.
“This new facility is a prime example.
“It is proof of the world-leading sustainability performance of Frasers Property Australia’s developments and investments, and it demonstrates the sustainability commitment of our progressive lending partners.”
The loan was arranged through Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, and United Overseas Bank Limited, all acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers, Underwriters and Bookrunners, and Co-Sustainability Coordinators.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited also served as the Facility Agent.
ANZ Head of Sustainable Finance, International, Stella Saris Chow said: “This is ANZ’s third sustainable financing transaction for Frasers Property.
“We’re honoured to support Frasers Property on its most recent A$340-million and US$75-million syndicated sustainability-linked loan facility, which aligns with the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association’s Sustainability Linked Loan Principles and has sustainability targets which are material to its core business.
“We’re seeing significant appetite for sustainability-linked loans, as they allow borrowers to communicate their sustainability strategy to the market, be publicly held accountable and incentivised through discounted pricing for sustainability outperformance.”
Previously, sustainability-linked loans of this nature were secured on the company’s development and investment portfolio performance measured against the GRESB benchmark.
The new loan is based on an elevated carbon reduction standard, to which Frasers Property’s net-zero strategy will be integral.
Frasers Property is targeting net-zero carbon across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2050, with a more ambitious 2028 timeline for Australia.
Scope 3 emissions include those from indirect sources such as emissions from its customers and suppliers across all sectors of operation.
This new sustainability-linked loan is the fifth sustainability-linked finance transaction secured by Frasers Property Limited’s Australian platform, with its first for Australia secured in March 2019.
At the time, this was Australia’s first corporate syndicated sustainability-linked loan.
