The EUR 47 million operation approved by the EIB consists of two components: a direct loan of EUR 20 million and an intermediated loan of EUR 18 million that can be increased to EUR 27 million, in which Banco Sabadell, Banesto, Caja Vital, Novacaixagalicia and La Caixa are participating – the latter as lead bank and the EIB’s sole interlocutor.
The loan will finance the company’s R&D activities and investment in equipment. The overall project consists of the development and production of lighter aircraft components with greater use of carbon fibre and composite materials.
The R&D component will centre on the design of airframe parts using composite materials such as the horizontal tail plane, torsion box and pressure panels.
The new assembly plant will be located in the new Illescas technology park in Toledo, in the convergence region of Castilla La Mancha. It will generate around 400 direct new jobs once production has reached cruising speed in 2015.
Through its RDI component, the project will bring environmental benefits by helping to reduce fuel consumption.
Aernnova has presented investment projects totalling approximately EUR 100 million, of which the EIB will finance around 50%. The balance will be financed by the company’s own funds and cash flow and grants from the Ministry of Industry.
This is the EIB’s first operation with Aernnova.
The European Investment Bank is the long-term financing institution of the European Union (EU), working to further European objectives. Created in 1958, it operates in the EU’s 27 Member States and over 130 other countries around the world. The EIB is heavily involved in financing investment aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the European economy, supporting projects involving research, development and innovation (RDI), education and training, the spread of new technologies and the development of information and communications technologies.