This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
PRIVATE equity real estate asset manager Pro-invest Group has won the backing of Aareal Bank AG for a green hotel portfolio loan, marking the global real estate banking specialist’s biggest of its type in the Asia-Pacific.
Aareal Bank announced the first-ever green loan governed by its Green Finance Framework in July of 2021 with the financing of Pro-invest’s Holiday Inn Express Macquarie Park in Sydney. Now, following a strategic refinancing initiative of Pro-invest Group’s Fund I portfolio, a total of five hotels are coming within this funding.
Aareal Bank acted as the arranger and sole lender in the financing of this hotel portfolio.
This initiative has enabled the refinancing of key properties in Pro-invest’s hotel portfolio, including Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Central, Holiday Inn Express Adelaide City Centre, Holiday Inn Express Melbourne Southbank, Holiday Inn Express Newcastle, and Holiday Inn Express Sydney Airport.
These properties have met the criteria of Aareal Bank’s Green Finance Framework 2023, with all five hotels achieving or bettering the minimum required 4.5-star rating under the NABERS Energy rating scheme, exceeding the Bank’s previous threshold of 4.0 stars.
“By prioritising green financing, we aim to encourage a shift towards more sustainable practices across industries. In this context, our partnership with Pro-invest Group stands out as a prime example of what can be achieved when financial institutions and industry leaders work together,” said Thomas Adaemmer, Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific at Aareal Bank, remarked.
“Pro-invest’s dedication to environmental excellence not only meets our stringent criteria but also sets a benchmark for the hospitality sector.”
Ronald Stephen Barrott, founder and chair of Pro-invest Group said, “Through Aareal Bank’s Green Finance Framework, we’ve been able to make considerable advancements in energy efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of our properties, setting new benchmarks in sustainability”.
Design and development initiatives have been incorporated into each of the hotels to significantly reduce energy and water consumption, ranging from sustainably produced and energy-efficient equipment, to smart light- and air-conditioning management, occupancy sensors, and solar panel installation.
When deployed at Holiday Inn Express Melbourne Southbank, the were designed to successfully help the hotel achieve 5-stars, up 0.5-stars from its initial base design.
Australia’s largest lender the Commonwealth Bank this week launched into the burgeoning green finance sector with a new loan for building owners looking to undertake sustainability-related upgrades.
Last month, Pro-invest announced it will begin moving into the residential sector with a view to growing its new division to as big as its 6,000-key hotels business, and has identified hotel and office assets that it will acquire and convert into apartments.