- The EIB will lend €45.2 million to MERLIN to accelerate its sustainability strategy and increase the energy efficiency of its buildings.
- The EIB financing is the first green loan for MERLIN and is aligned with the EU taxonomy.
- The operation supports the objectives of the EU Renovation Wave Strategy, a European Commission initiative that aims to double the renovation rate of the building stock over the next decade.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide MERLIN Properties SOCIMI with a €45.2 million EIB green loan to boost the energy efficiency of its building portfolio.
Sustainability is one of MERLIN’s core objectives. The EIB loan will be used to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings by introducing various measures to reduce CO2 emissions. These include facade improvements, better building insulation, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning system upgrades, as well as the installation of modern LED lighting and solar panels for self-consumption. Projects financed by MERLIN with EIB support are expected to create 460 jobs during the implementation period.
The project will contribute to climate change mitigation and will be in line with the European Commission’s renovation wave initiative, which aims to double the energy renovation rate by 2030 to help cut EU emissions by 55%. The investment programme covered by this operation contributes to the EIB’s sustainable energy objective, in line with the criteria of the Climate Bank Roadmap. The investments are also in line with the objectives of the national energy and climate plans of Spain and Portugal.
The EU bank is assisting this project via a green loan, the features of which are fully in line with the Bank’s climate action and environmental sustainability requirements.
In addition, it is estimated that approximately one-fifth of the investment project financed by the EIB will be carried out in the Spanish convergence regions.
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix said: “According to a report published by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the approximately 3 million buildings that make up the non-residential building sector in Spain account for 12.5% of total national energy consumption. Over the last decade, the energy consumption of such buildings has increased by 10%, compared to a 12% decrease in consumption in the residential building stock. That is why we are very proud to be helping MERLIN achieve its objective of significantly improving the energy efficiency of its non-residential buildings in Spain and Portugal. The EIB loan will also finance the economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis and contribute to the fight against climate change.”
Managing Director of MERLIN Properties Miguel Ollero said: “MERLIN Properties aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its assets through various initiatives. The EIB support will give us the boost we need to achieve our goal.”
The EU climate bank
The EIB Group recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to allocate more than 50% of its financing to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the Roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have also been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since early 2021.
In 2020, for the fifth year in a row, the EIB Group increased the percentage of its activity in Spain intended to promote projects that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, up to a total of 38% (€2.85 billion), a 9 percentage point increase on the previous year. Spain is the third largest beneficiary of financing related to this objective in the European Union. The EIB uses these funds to help develop clean transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energies, and to modernise the electricity networks, among other projects.
MERLIN Properties SOCIMI, S.A. (MC:MRL) is the largest real estate company in Spain. It specialises in the acquisition and management of commercial assets in the Iberian Peninsula, investing mainly in offices, shopping centres and logistics facilities in the Core and Core Plus segments. MERLIN Properties is listed on the benchmark IBEX 35, Euro STOXX 600, FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index, GPR Global Index, GPR 250 Index, MSCI Small Caps and Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.