W&F November 2017

Wealth & Finance International - November 2017 5 In an Australian retail property first, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will invest $200 million into QICGRE’s flagship Shopping Centre Fund (QSCF) to undertake improvements in energy performance across the QSCF shopping centre portfolio. The senior debt facility is the CEFC’s largest property investment commit- ment to date and will support improve- ments in its Australian shopping cen- tres located in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT. Australian shopping centres, which account for 36 per cent of commercial building energy consumption, are a relatively untapped opportunity to transform energy use and reduce carbon emissions. They also provide the opportunity to make local com- munities “greener” by engaging with customers with initiatives to improve sustainability and reduce energy use. There more than 1,750 shopping centres in Australia, and yet less than 10 per cent of them have attained National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) ratings that measure how well they perform in terms of energy use. That represents enormous potential for improvement. Shopping centres have substantial energy needs with large enclosed malls and retail areas necessitating ‘year-round’ heating and air-condi- tioning supply. There is a range of environmental initiatives that can be implemented to deliver energy efficiencies in shopping centre operations. QSCF’s retail footprint encompasses over 1 million square metres of floor space and, each year, accommodates more than 130 million visitations, generating more than $5 billion in retail transactions. Through the CEFC’s agreement with QSCF, QICGRE will provide a path- way to reducing energy consumption and will undertake customer engage- ment activities that inform shoppers of the initiatives being carried out. Steve Leigh, Managing Director of QICGRE said the agreement reached with CEFC was an important mile- stone in the history of the organisa- tion. “All of the funds in our portfolio are guided by a firm commitment to driving improvements in ESG-related initiatives, and in particular focusing on energy reduction and security across the portfolio. “In a broader sense, successfully delivering these initiatives contributes to achieving our triple bottom line objectives incorporating economic and environmental factors, and social priorities. “Our ESG Strategy and operating procedures align with globally recog- nised standards and we partner with respected organisations to assist us in the delivery of programs designed to achieve industry best-practice.” QSCF Fund Manager, Michael Fattouh said: “This partnership with CEFC presents a unique opportunity to align QSCF’s capital management strategy, that seeks to diversify its sources of funding, with QICGRE’s broader ESG ambitions to drive sustainability initiatives and manage energy risk across our retail portfolio. The CEFC facility is also QSCF’s first “green debt” facility and the first major investment CEFC has committed to the Australian retail sector, for which we are extremely proud.” “QSCF is also commencing work with the CEFC to understand potential pathways to achieving net zero carbon emissions across its portfolio, building on QICGRE’s recently an- nounced target of generating 30 per cent of all base load power for retail asset common areas from renewable energy by 2025.” While the energy efficiency targets will be achieved through strategies spe- cific to each building, environmental initiatives identified may include: • onsite rooftop solar PV • LED lighting • heating, ventilation and air-con- ditioning system upgrades • sub-metering and energy data monitoring systems to provide data to optimise energy man- agement processes. A series of energy efficiency and clean energy initiatives will be rolled out across the portfolio in the short and medium term. Although the shopping centres involved are of different ages and are at different levels of sustainability, QICGRE is targeting a minimum 4-star NABERS (excluding GreenPower) rating for all assets in its portfolio within 5 years, which will translate to energy savings of between 30 and 40 per cent AlixPartners advises Rubicon Partners on debt raising to support its acquisition of John Lawrie Group. Rubicon Partners Seeks Financing for Merger AlixPartners, the global consulting firm, has announced that its debt advisory team has advised Rubicon Partners, the specialist mid-market in- dustrial investor, on its debt raising to support the acquisition of John Lawrie Group (“John Lawrie”), a market-lead- ing metal recycling and tubular steel trading business which operates from Aberdeen and Houston, Texas. Following a competitive debt raising process managed by AlixPartners, Rubicon Partners secured senior debt facilities comprising term, committed expansion and working capital facil- ities, from Lloyds Banking Group plc (Bank of Scotland), via its Strategic Debt Finance team and Santander UK plc, via its Structured Finance, Financial Sponsors team. Proskauer Rose LLP acted as legal counsel to Rubicon Partners. Tom Cox, a Director in AlixPartners’ debt advisory team, commented on the announcement and how it will affect both firms. “John Lawrie is a unique business with market leading capabilities serving the oil, gas and construction markets. With that in mind, the financ- ing required deep credit analysis to structure a deal that met the require- ments of all stakeholders. We were delighted to advise Rubicon Partners on this exciting acquisition which aligns perfectly with our capability to deliver complex financings for deals with significant upside potential.” News