citizenM Secures C.€480m Sustainability Linked Loan to Further its Net Zero Ambitions
Summary
Award-winning hotel and lifestyle brand, citizenM, has secured a dual currency 243.3M and \xa3201.7M Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) facilitated by HSBC UK and HSBC Continental Europe, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., and Aareal Bank.By refinancing existing debt as a SLL, citizenM has tied its funding to specific Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets, which include reducing operating CO2 emissions and improving existing green building certifications of its European owned hotel assets. Its completion makes citizenM one of the first European hospitality businesses to adopt the SLL funding structure.citizenM operates 31 hotels worldwide across 18 cities and 9 countries, with a further 14 in development. Rattan Chadha the founder of the global fashion brand Mexx was inspired by his employees to create a hotel for todays frequent travellers, giving them everything they need and nothing they dont. Its unique value proposition, delivering a high profitability per square foot, allows the brand to develop hotels on prime locations in cities with the highest barriers to entry. The company will also selectively consider asset-light transactions.In Europe the key target cities for new sites are London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Dublin, Munich, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, and Barcelona.