International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided a €150 million investment with sustainability-linked features to Lion’s Head Investments (LHI), a commercial property platform in Bulgaria and Romania – JV between Old Mutual Property and AG Capital. The IFC facility includes a convertible instrument and a syndicated loan.
Lion’s Head currently owns and operates five office buildings situated in prime locations, two in Sofia – Polygraphia Office Center and Megapark and three in Bucharest – Oregon Park A, B & C. As of end-2023, the office buildings reached over 95 percent occupancy with global tenants such as Oracle, Deloitte, EY, Thermo Fisher, Bosch, and Groupama. All of the buildings have green certificates (BREEAM and LEED) and a high level of sustainability.
LHI is in the process of building a new platform in the logistics and light industrial market in Bulgaria and Romania, which will be further supported by IFC’s investment. The company’s logistics assets will be certified with the IFC’s EDGE Advanced green building certification.
“Strengthening logistics infrastructure and connectivity within regional and global value chains remain important objectives for Bulgaria and Romania in the current context,” said Ary Naïm, IFC Manager for Central and South Europe. “It is key for any new piece of infrastructure in the region to be built with the highest energy-efficiency standards, and we are pleased to be mobilizing financing to support LHI in the pursuit of this dual goal.”
“I am genuinely pleased that after five years of successful partnership with Old Mutual, IFC has become our new global partner in Lion’s Head. This is a testament to the outstanding credentials of our business, and I am looking forward to further expanding our platform in the region,” commented Christo Iliev, AG Capital’s Founder,
Lion’s Head Investments is a JV between Old Mutual Property, part of Old Mutual Limited, a major South African financial conglomerate, and AG Capital (AGC), a leading regional real estate group.
Old Mutual Limited is a publicly listed company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with the South African Public Investment Corporation holding 17 percent and BlackRock holding 6 percent. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest brands in South Africa, has a presence in 14 countries and a market capitalization of €3 billion.
AGC is controlled by Christo Iliev and is a real estate-focused group of companies with a presence in Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. AGC has commercial and residential real estate platforms and partners with international institutional investors in the CEE region.
