Gránit Pólus Group has closed a €290 million green loan refinancing of the Westend building complex in Budapest, described as the largest real-estate refinancing transaction in Hungary in the past five years and a record for a single property. The financing is provided by a bank consortium led by Erste Bank Hungary and Erste Group Bank AG, and comprising UniCredit Bank and K&H Bank.
The Westend complex includes a shopping centre with more than 50,000 sqm of retail space and over 400 stores, 16,000 sqm of office space across three office towers, and a 230-room Crowne Plaza hotel. The centre attracts close to 20 million visitors a year. The bank consortium has been financing Westend since 2017, and the new agreement replaces the previous loan with a long-term structure on improved terms.
The transaction was structured as a green loan, enabled by sustainability and energy-efficiency upgrades worth around €10 million carried out at Westend in recent years. Through these investments, Gránit Pólus Group raised the share of renewable energy sources to nearly 80%, introduced nature-based solutions and implemented AI-based building management systems. The complex has achieved A and A+ energy efficiency ratings and is expected to obtain BREEAM In-Use Excellent and Outstanding certifications later this year, meeting EU Taxonomy Regulation requirements.
"We are especially proud to have carried out this record-sized refinancing as a green loan. The sustainability investments of recent years are valuable not only from an environmental perspective, but also bring direct business benefits. We believe that long-term green electricity procurement will also qualify us for further financing benefits in the near future, thereby supporting the emergence of Hungary's PPA market," said Miklós Gyertyánfy, CEO of Gránit Pólus Group.
"Westend has been one of the strongest and most stable assets in the Hungarian real-estate market for years. Its high occupancy, predictable operation, and commitment to sustainability goals aligned with ESG expectations have all contributed to the bank consortium's willingness to remain a long-term partner in the financing, unchanged in its composition," said György Salamon, Mandated Lead Arranger and Head of Real Estate Finance at Erste Bank Hungary.
