DFF - Akropolis Bond Issuance

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

EBRD invested EUR 20 million as part of a EUR 300 million Eurobond issuance by Akropolis Group, UAB ("Akropolis", the "issuer" or the "Group"). Akropolis is the leading owner, developer and operator of retail and entertainment centres in the Baltic states. The bond has a maturity of 5 years and is listed on the Euronext Dublin and NASDAQ Vilnius stock exchanges.

Project ID 52863

Status Complete

Location

Regional

Business Sector

Real Estate

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Sarunas Anilionis
sarunas.anilionis@akropolis.lt
https://www.akropolis.eu/
Ozo Street 25, LT-07150, Vilnius, Lithuania

Project ID 52863

Status Complete

Location

Regional

Business Sector

Real Estate

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

11 May 2021

Disclosure date

17 Jun 2021

As permitted by paragraph 2.6 of Section III of the Access to Information Policy, disclosure of this PSD was deferred in accordance with paragraph 1.4.4 of the Directive on Access to Information.

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project description

Project objectives

The proceeds from the Bank's investment will be used to refinance the issuer's existing debt and finance expansion.

Transition impact

ETI Score:68

ransition impact is expected to come from: (i) the "Resilient" quality as this is the first bond issuance by the company and one of the few Eurobond issuances in the past year in Lithuania by non-FI corporates, thus contributing to capital market development in the country; (ii) the "Inclusive" quality as the issuer will develop and introduce a new training academy at its shopping centres, that will offer equal, diverse and inclusive access to skills and employment for the Group's 900+ tenants and its employees. The academy will especially focus on the inclusion of the aging workforce where the country level inclusion gaps are largest.

Client information

AKROPOLIS GROUP UAB

Akropolis Group UAB, a limited liability company incorporated in Lithuania is the holding group of the leading retail and entertainment platform in the Baltic countries. In terms of gross leasable area, Akropolis is the largest retail landlord in Lithuania and the second-largest in Latvia. The Issuer is owned by Vilniaus Prekyba, UAB, a limited liability company incorporated in Lithuania.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 20,000,000.00

Total project cost

EUR 300,000,000.00

Additionality

The EBRD's participation in this issuance will support Akropolis Group's first effort to tap into the international capital markets and is expected to provide comfort to other investors. The Bank is further additional in the project as it contributes to improving the Issuer's standards both in the area of economic inclusion and sustainability.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised B (2019 ESP) and Low risk. The project is a capital markets transaction and the Bank's due diligence was limited to publicly available information and in-house due diligence. Environmental & social due diligence (ESDD) was carried out based on a review of the project prospectus, completed ESDD Questionnaire (April, 2021) and follow-up questions to the client. The ESDD showed that, while the issuer's environmental & social risk management capacities are appropriate for the management of its commercial property portfolio, future construction activities will require an improvement in ES management systems and oversight. An ESAP has been developed by requiring the client to develop and implement a corporate Environmental and Social Management System. The Issuer is required to ensure that the project complies with EBRD PRs and ESAP as well as submit annual reports to the Bank. These requirements are incorporated into the Framework Agreement. The project is consistent with GET approach and GET share is 100%, as the Issuer has committed to certify all of its operational assets under the BREEAM certification scheme and adopt a formal sustainability and climate change strategy.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

TC support for this operation was provided by the EBRD's Shareholder Special Fund under the Gender and Economic Inclusion TC Framework, with a significant contribution by Akropolis Group.

Company Contact Information

Sarunas Anilionis
sarunas.anilionis@akropolis.lt
https://www.akropolis.eu/
Ozo Street 25, LT-07150, Vilnius, Lithuania

PSD last updated

17 Jun 2021

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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DFF - Akropolis Bond Issuance

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)