BlackRock Real Estate’ student digs scheme in Hoxton, N1 has secured the first Lloyds Bank green loan for a student development.
Lloyds has agreed a £39.9m loan for the 272-unit scheme on a 3.5-year term for the development at 11-13 London Street, which is due to complete in 2019.
The deal is the first ground-up development funding to come from the bank’s Green Lending Initiative, which has now arranged more than £850m of lending to support firms that are prioritising sustainability.
BlackRock will benefit from a 20bps margin discount on its loan – covering both development and investment phases – by guaranteeing specific “green covenants” including a BREEAM Excellent rating, a strong GRESB score and the installation of energy efficiency-creating technologies.
Once occupied, BlackRock has committed to procuring all the building’s energy from renewable sources, running educational initiatives on environmental impact to student residents and providing incentives to students to practise better energy usage habits.
James Halstead, vice president of BlackRock Real Estate, said: “The bespoke covenants we created alongside Lloyds Bank are a recognition of our efforts to be at the vanguard of green development, and form a partnership that will continue to support the building long after the first students have moved in.”
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