European Property Developer CTP Invests €200 Million in Solar Expansion with EIB Backing

European Property Developer CTP Invests €200 Million in Solar Expansion with EIB Backing

(IN BRIEF) CTP, Europe’s major industrial property developer, secures €200 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund extensive solar panel installations across its European business parks. The funding aligns with the EIB’s REPowerEU initiative to reduce fossil fuel dependence and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. CTP’s portfolio spans 10.9 million m2 in Central and Eastern Europe, with expansion plans and a focus on renewable energy. The EIB’s support will help CTP achieve its medium-term goal of reaching 400MWp of installed photovoltaic capacity by 2026, contributing to a sustainable energy future.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 19-Sep-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, announces that CTP, Europe’s leading developer and manager of industrial and logistics properties, has successfully obtained €200 million in funding from EIB. The funds will support an extensive solar panel installation program across CTP’s European business park portfolio. This initiative aligns with the EIB’s commitment to REPowerEU, aiming to reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel imports while accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources.

The 10-year unsecured loan, provided on favorable terms, will play a crucial role in bolstering energy sustainability, enhancing power supply security, and advancing climate action, social cohesion, and economic development. CTP’s impressive portfolio spans 10.9 million m2 of gross lettable area (GLA) across Central and Eastern Europe, with a growing focus on Western European markets like Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

CTP has been diligently preparing for its renewable energy journey, ensuring that all its industrial and logistics buildings have been “solar ready” since 2020. The company is actively pursuing a 15% yield-on-cost return on its solar investments and currently boasts 38MWp of installed photovoltaic capacity on roof space. By the end of 2023, CTP anticipates adding an additional 100MWp, with the EIB’s financial support crucial to achieving its medium-term goal of reaching 400MWp by 2026.

For locations where onsite renewable energy is unavailable, CTP collaborates with energy providers to offer clients 100% renewable energy solutions. The company aims to nearly double its portfolio to 20 million m2 by the end of the decade and is dedicated to establishing energy-independent industrial parks in the long term. In these parks, all energy consumption is generated onsite, and surplus energy is supplied to the local electricity grid, benefiting neighboring communities, reducing costs for CTP clients, and shrinking carbon footprints.

Richard Wilkinson, Group Chief Financial Officer at CTP, remarked, “The backing of the EIB is testament to the robust business strategy we have in place to deliver on the large-scale installation of solar photovoltaics across our portfolio, and allows us to obtain long-term unsecured financing on attractive conditions. Sustainable financing is the way forward, and we are proud to add the EIB as a new financial partner in this.”

Peter Ceresnik, Chief Operating Officer at CTP, added, “CTP has long been a pioneer in the development of sustainable industrial and logistics space, and we are now applying the same long-term vision and ambition to renewable enery. This EIB financing will accelerate our plans to maximise the solar potential of our portfolio and help us meet our medium-term goal of installing 400MWp by 2026. It will also help us achieve our longer-term vision for our parks to become energy positive — meaning that they can produce and share excess renewable energy, benefiting not only our clients and the communities where we operate, but also the planet.”

“There is enormous untapped potential for renewable energy in Central and Eastern Europe,” explained EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova. “With loans like the one to CTP, we help countries in the region to break away from fossil fuels, decrease their dependency on energy imports and ultimately bring down electricity prices for everybody’s benefit. It’s a transition that makes economic and social sense.”

This EIB financing follows CTP’s inaugural Sustainability Report, which transparently outlines the company’s progress on its ESG commitments in accordance with EU taxonomy requirements. CTP’s ESG strategy focuses on four main areas: achieving climate positivity, integrating business parks into local communities, fostering social impact and well-being, and conducting business with integrity. The company’s “Low-Risk” ESG rating by Sustainalytics, placing it in the top 1.5% of global companies, underscores its unwavering commitment to sustainability. Additionally, CTP is part of the AEX ESG index, recognizing the 25 top-performing companies in the AEX and AMX indices in terms of ESG performance.

Background information

About the European Investment Bank

The EIB was the first multilateral development bank to end support for fossil fuels and has committed to supporting €1 trillion in climate investment this decade. Over half of the EIB Group’s lending in 2022 was devoted to climate and environmental sustainability projects, while almost half of EIB financing inside the European Union was signed for projects in cohesion regions, where per-capita income is lower, highlighting the Bank’s commitment to equitable growth.

In July 2023, the EIB Board of Directors decided to raise the additional funds earmarked for projects aligned with REPowerEU — the plan designed to end Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel imports — to €45 billion. The additional funding comes on top of the EIB’s already substantial support for clean investments and represents a 50% increase compared to the original €30 billion package announced in October 2022.

About CTP

CTP is Europe’s largest listed owner, developer and manager of logistics and industrial real estate by GLA, with 10.9 million m² across ten countries as of 31 March 2023. CTP certifies all new buildings to BREEAM “Very Good” or better, and earned a “Low-Risk” ESG rating by Sustainalytics, underlining its commitment to being a sustainable business. For more information, visit CTP’s corporate website: www.ctp.eu

Media contact:

Antonie Kerwien
a.kerwien@eib.org
+352 4379 – 82175

Press Office

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank