The infrastructure investment firm returns to the sustainable finance market to fund four NZ schools
Commonwealth Bank has helped Morrison & Co arrange a $284 million sustainability loan for a public-private partnership that manages four schools in New Zealand, in the capacity of sole sustainability coordinator and co-lender.
Morrison & Co’s NZ Schools II PPP was established in 2017 with the Ministry of Education to design, finance, construct, and maintain, for 25 years following construction, a schools’ portfolio of Rolleston College and Haeata (Aranui) Community Campus in Christchurch, Wakatipu High School in Queenstown and Ormiston Junior College in Auckland and expansion projects at Rolleston College and Wakatipu High School.
The sustainability loan refinances debt facilities and supports expansion of two of the schools. The project was accredited with the “sustainability loan” label for meeting the criteria around delivering improved environmental and social outcomes. The loan is aligned to the Asia-Pacific Loan Market Association’s (APLMA) Green and Social Loan Principles 2023.
The loan facilities, provided by CBA and China Construction Bank, have a three-year term.
Steven Proctor, Morrison & Co executive director of PIP funds, said the new sustainability loan will fund the expansion at Rolleston College, which will increase student capacity by a further 700 students, and re-finance the project’s existing debt facilities.
“Sustainability loans are supporting the schools to meet the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals defined by Morrison & Co for Public Infrastructure Partners I, II, III, and SE, the PPP funds which own the project,” Proctor said.
“Morrison & Co believes that effective ESG integration can be value accretive. This was evidenced by our announcement in December that, following regulatory approvals being obtained, we will complete the sale of our operational PPP portfolio – including the NZ Schools II PPP – to International Public Partnerships (INPP), a listed infrastructure fund. Amber Infrastructure is the investment advisor to INPP.”
Charles Davis (pictured above), managing director of sustainable finance and ESG at CBA, welcomed Morrison & Co’s return to the sustainable finance market with its second sustainability loan in the NZ school sector.
“School facilities with better environmental attributes and stronger social factors can play an important role in supporting students to be at their best,” Davis said. “CBA is delighted to support Morrison & Co’s investment in green, energy-efficient public infrastructure that will serve communities for decades to come.”
“The schools have been designed with sustainable outcomes as a key objective, targeting reductions in energy consumption and achieving a five-star rating under the GRESB Infrastructure Asset Assessment, a respected international ESG benchmark for infrastructure funds, companies and assets. This is made possible by sustainable finance,” said Christoph Vojc, investment director at Morrison & Co.
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