- First school project finance deal by institutional investors in Austria
- Long-term debt for construction of sustainable vocational school building in Vienna
- Talanx Group underscores importance of ESG criteria in investment policy and readiness to invest in public infrastructure projects
“By financing the construction of a modern vocational school building, we are supporting both environmental and social sustainability. This reinforces our ESG-based investment policy”, said Dr Jan Wicke, CFO of Talanx AG. “This project finance deal is the first time that institutional investors have participated directly in a tendered school project in Austria. We are proud to be contributing our expertise and partnership-based approach by investing in this exciting project and helping the City of Vienna with its implementation. This is an excellent example of how public and private investors can work together successfully on sustainable infrastructure projects.”
The vocational school building (the “Central Vocational School” in Seestadt Aspern) will be energy-efficient and climate-friendly: state of the art facilities engineering, geothermal temperature control and rooftop photovoltaic systems will reduce the need to source energy externally, while green roofing will store carbon emissions. The plans for the school building provide for seven vocational schools for different trades on a site of almost 29,000 m2, to be attended by 7,500 students. The classrooms with their modern design offer a unique learning environment.
The Talanx Group, which is part of a consortium, is investing in the debt transaction via Ampega Asset Management GmbH – a Talanx AG subsidiary based in Cologne, Germany. More specifically, the Group companies participating in the finance are HDI insurance and neue leben insurance. The finance takes the form of an amortising tranche of long-term debt that Ampega negotiated for insurers. Overall, the finance solution comprises separate tranches for insurance undertakings, commercial banks and the European Investment Bank.
Implementation of the vocational school project, which is part of the City of Vienna’s new building programme for educational facilities, is being lead-managed by Austrian construction company PORR and in partnership with the Quaero Capital European Infrastructure Fund. Construction will start in April 2025 and is scheduled to be completed in 2028.