Downing Property Finance gains £75m HSBC funding

Downing’s property finance division has secured a £75m sustainability-linked facility from HSBC. The investment manager said it will use the funding to bolster its development finance offer. The loan includes provisions that support Downing’s overall sustainability strategy, and will contribute to its goal of deploying its own sustainability-linked facilities to small and medium-sized UK property developers. Downing’s development finance offering includes loans that are based on the Loan Market Association’s sustainability-linked loan principles. The investor’s stated objective is to incentivise and reward a borrower’s achievements based on predetermined sustainability performance objectives. This is based on a borrower’s sustainability strategy, targets and objectives, which are assessed against Downing’s ESG scorecard. The scorecard looks at criteria including physical risk, embodied carbon, energy and operational carbon, water, waste, biodiversity and habitat and certifications. The firm typically lends between £1m and £30m to developers, with the ability to go higher in exceptional cases. It lends up to 90% loan-to-cost and 70% loan-to-gross-development value. Parik Chandra, partner and head of specialist lending at Downing, said: “This new facility is a testament to the team and track record we have built in the development finance sector. We continue to grow and diversify our funding sources, and are delighted that this facility with HSBC includes sustainability targets which we believe are of increasing importance to a range of investors.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews