By Philippa Larkin 
Aug 11, 2021
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FORTRESS Reit said yesterday it had launched sustainability-linked bonds of R900 million aligned to its ongoing strategic environmental, social and governance plan to scale up its renewable energy outputs and deliver more solar energy to the national grid.
The JSE had granted Fortress the listing of a three-year sustainability-linked bond of R495m and a five-year sustainability-linked note of R405m.
“Although the bonds do not have specific use-of-proceed requirements, the funds will assist Fortress with the continued installation and increase of solar energy in South Africa, across its retail and logistics portfolios. This will allow Fortress’ real estate assets to meet its targets for solar energy, facilitate a reduction in reliance on utilities, reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to mitigating climate change,” it said.
Ian Vorster, the chief financial officer of Fortress Reit, said the target measurement dates for the five-year note were June 30, 2022 and June 30, 2024.
The renewable energy target would be achieved through an increase in solar energy installed measured in megawatt-peak (MWp) with respect to the South African portion of its portfolio. The target was for a 2.2MWp increase at the first target date in June 2022 and a further 3.6MWp in June 2024, resulting in a cumulative 5.8MWp installation.
This would be added to Fortress’s current solar energy programme, which generated 4.735MWp from 10 installations.
Steven Brown, the chief executive of Fortress Reit, said: “There is massive demand for renewable energy from our tenants. This is primarily driven by their desire to play their part in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future.”
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