JLEN Environmental Assets refinances its sustainability linked RCF

JLEN Environmental Assets (JLEN) has announced that it has refinanced a three-year facilities agreement providing for a committed multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF) of £200m. The facility has an uncommitted accordion facility of up to £30m and an uncommitted option to extend for a further year. Taken together, this provides an additional £30m of funding capability over the previous facility.

JLEN says that the RCF provides a valuable source of flexible funding, with both sterling and euro drawdowns available at a margin of 210bps over SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) for sterling drawings and Euribor (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) for euro drawings. The lenders under the RCF remain unchanged (HSBC, ING, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland International and Clydesdale Bank).

RCF qualifies as a sustainability Linked Loan

JLEN’s RCF qualifies as a Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) under the latest Loan Market Association SLL principles. The aim of an SLL is to support sustainable economic activity and growth, with interest rates linked to meeting certain agreed sustainability goals. Therefore, interest charged on the facility is linked to the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance, with JLEN incurring a 5bps premium or discount to its margin based on performance against defined ESG-linked targets. Performance against targets is measured annually, with the cost of the RCF being amended in the following financial year.

Comments from Ed Warner, JLEN’s chair (pictured)

“I’m delighted that JLEN has secured another three years of stable financing at attractive terms – supporting our capital allocation strategy as part of a number of ongoing measures to ensure that JLEN is as attractive as possible to current and potential investors. We are also pleased to have achieved Sustainability Linked Loan status, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to sustainable infrastructure investment.”