NIB Supports Lidl Lietuva’s Expansion with €50 Million Loan for New Logistics Centre in Lithuania

NIB Supports Lidl Lietuva’s Expansion with €50 Million Loan for New Logistics Centre in Lithuania

(IN BRIEF) The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and retail store operator UAB Lidl Lietuva have signed a seven-year EUR 50 million loan agreement for Lidl’s new logistics centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. This facility will enable Lidl to expand its store network in the country, providing storage space for a wide range of products and improving the efficiency of its logistics chain. The logistics centre will be equipped with climate-friendly solutions and is expected to open in 2024. NIB’s financing supports Lidl Lietuva’s growth plans and enhances competition in Lithuania’s grocery market. This marks NIB’s second loan agreement with Lidl Lietuva, having previously financed the company’s store expansion.

(PRESS RELEASE) HELSINKI, 10-Oct-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The new facility will enable Lidl to expand its store network in Lithuania. Currently, the company runs one warehouse in Kaunas, the country’s second largest city.

“NIB’s financing to Lidl Lietuva is in line with our strategy of increasing lending to private-sector companies in the Baltics. By unlocking Lidl’s further growth potential, the project will enhance competition in the grocery market. This is especially important in Lithuania, where the share of household expenditure on food is amongst the highest in the EU,” says André Küüsvek, NIB President and CEO.

The newly built around 64,000-square-metre logistics centre will provide storage space for the entire product range, from frozen products to non-food items. Moreover, it will open new supply routes, improving the efficiency of the overall logistics chain. Like most other Lidl Lithuania buildings, the new facility will be certified under the EDGE green building certification system, and will be equipped with climate-friendly solutions, such as solar panels and waste heat recovery from refrigerators.

The estimated total investment cost is more than EUR 100 million. The opening of the facility is expected in 2024.

“The new logistics centre is an important stage in the company’s development, as the number of Lidl stores in Lithuania is increasing and we want to ensure that they are properly supplied. At the same time, it will have an even greater positive impact on the country’s economy and create hundreds of new jobs. The new logistics centre will be distinguished by its modern and sustainable solutions, which will help to ensure even more efficient operation of the chain and provide customers with the best price-to-quality ratio,“ says Radostin Roussev-Peine, CEO at “Lidl Lietuva”.

This is NIB’s second loan agreement with Lidl Lietuva. Previously, the Bank has financed the company’s store expansion. NIB also provided similar loans to Lidl in Finland and Sweden.

The Lidl retail company, part of the Germany-based Schwarz Group, is one of the leading companies in the food retail industry in Europe. In Lithuania, Lidl has a network of 71 stores and employs around 2,700 people.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

Media Contact:

Seppo Halttunen
Senior Banker, Services & Consumer
+358 10 618 0411
seppo.halttunen@nib.int

Vytautas Brazaitis
Communications Officer
+358 10 618 0235
vytautas.brazaitis@nib.int

SOURCE: Nordic Investment Bank