Via Celere launches €300M of green bonds

Spanish residential homes developer Via Celere 1 Sl(Vía Célere Desarrollos Inmobiliarios SA) has launched an offering of €300 million of secured notes due 2026 (non-call two) via global coordinators J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Passive bookrunners are Credit Suisse, Santander, CaixaBank, BBVA, and Banco Sabadell. Banks have released initial price talk in the high-5% to 6% area.

A global investor call is scheduled for today at 11 a.m. U.K. time, with virtual meetings through to March 17.

The gross proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including for the repayment of around €120 million of certain existing debt, and to fund cash on balance sheet, while the group also intends to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds from the offering to Eligible Green Projects as defined in the group’s Green Bond Framework.

J.P. Morgan acted as green structuring agent.

The Green Bond Framework has been developed to align with the 2018 Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Markets Association, as well as the Green Loan Principles published by the Loan Market Association in 2020.

Eligible green projects are expenditures relating to construction of residential properties falling within the Top 15% of the most energy efficient comparable buildings in a local context, according to the Offering Memorandum, or OM.

Sustainalytics will provide a second party opinion on the Green Bond Framework and the Eligible Green Projects. Banks are guiding toward expected ratings of B+/BB by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.

As adjusted for the offering, the group will have gross financial debt of €562.7 million as of December 2020. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, the firm has revenue, profit and adjusted EBITDA of €657 million, €49.7 million and €93.4 million, respectively, according to the OM. In the prior year, revenue, profit and adjusted EBITDA amounted to €363 million, €22.4 million and €39.8 million, respectively.

Formed in 1989, Vía Celere develops residential homes in Spain, focusing on five key provinces: Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia. The group is owned by Värde Partners, a global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distressed. Värde bought Via Celere in 2017 via its portfolio company Dospuntos for €90 million, according to a news release at the time.