Gránit Pólus Group has renewed the financing of the Westend building complex through a EUR 290 million green loan agreement. This is the largest real-estate refinancing transaction in Hungary over the past five years, and it also stands as a record among domestic transactions linked to a single property, the Group says in a press release.
The financing is provided by a bank consortium led by Erste Bank Hungary and Erste Group Bank AG and comprising UniCredit Bank and K&H Bank. Under the agreement, the bank consortium is replacing the previous financing linked to Westend with a new, long-term loan structure.
The EUR 290 million transaction is Hungary's largest real-estate refinancing deal, and it also represents a record among domestic financing linked to a single property. The loan is secured by Gránit Pólus Group's most valuable property, the Westend building complex, one of Central Europe's best-known real-estate complexes. The complex, which includes a shopping center, office space and a hotel, has delivered outstanding operational results and predictable financial performance for years. The Westend shopping center welcomes close to 20 million visitors a year, with more than 50,000 square meters of retail space, over 400 stores, 16,000 square meters of office space across 3 office towers, and a 230-room hotel operated under the internationally known Crowne Plaza brand. The strong market position of the complex and the proven resilience in value were also reflected in the significant improvement of the financing terms.
One of the key features of the refinancing is that the transaction was structured as a green loan. The conditions for this were created by the sustainability and energy-efficiency upgrades, worth around EUR 10 million, carried out by Westend in the recent years. As part of the investment program, Gránit Pólus Group improved the building complex's energy efficiency, raised the share of renewable energy sources to nearly 80%, introduced nature-based solutions, and implemented AI-based building management systems along with numerous technical upgrades.
Through these developments, Westend has achieved outstanding results, placing the more-than-25-year-old building among the most technically advanced properties in Central Europe in terms of technology used. As a result of the upgrades, the complex has achieved A and A+ energy efficiency ratings, and is expected to obtain the BREEAM In-Use Excellent and Outstanding green building certifications later this year, meeting the requirements set out in the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Miklós Gyertyánfy, CEO of Gránit Pólus Group said that "we are especially proud to have carried out this record-sized refinancing as a green loan. The sustainability investments of recent years are valuable not only from an environmental perspective, but also bring direct business benefits. We believe that, alongside the technical upgrades, long-term green electricity procurement will also qualify us for further financing benefits in the near future, thereby supporting the emergence of Hungary's PPA market and a genuine green transition in the country. This agreement reflects Westend's outstanding market position, stable business performance and future-proof operation at the same time."
György Salamon, Mandated Lead Arranger and Head of Real Estate Finance at Erste Bank Hungary, stated that "Westend has been one of the strongest and most stable assets in the Hungarian real-estate market for years. Its high occupancy, predictable operation, and commitment to sustainability goals aligned with ESG expectations, have all contributed to the bank consortium's willingness to remain a long-term partner in the financing, unchanged in its composition."
With this agreement, the nearly decade-long cooperation between Gránit Pólus Group and the financing banks has reached a new milestone. The bank consortium has been financing Westend since 2017, and a stable, long-term partnership has developed between the parties over this period. The refinancing not only signals confidence in Westend's business performance, but also shows that sustainable, energy-efficient operation is becoming an increasingly decisive factor in real-estate financing decisions, according to the statement.
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