The Lamartine Residential Property Fund, 85% owned by CNP Assurances and 15% by CDC Habitat since March 2022, has issued two green bonds for a total amount of €850 million. These operations were initiated by AMPERE Gestion, a subsidiary of CDC Habitat and manager of the fund. By 2026, the fund will therefore produce 3,950 new and unrestricted housing units at subsidised or intermediate rents, with a fund target size of more than 7,600 housing units and a value of €2.4 billion.
An operation confirming the relevance of the strategy adopted
Having obtained an A-/BBB+ (Fitch/S&P) debt rating, the Lamartine Fund issued two “Green and Sustainable” bonds (SPO Moody’s ESG Solutions) in April and July 2022 as part of the financing strategy defined with CNP Assurances and CDC Habitat, the Fund’s two investors:
- On 8 April 2022, a first public bond issue of €500 million at 10 years, 2x oversubscribed, offering a coupon of 2.875%,
- On 12 July 2022, a second public bond issue of €350 million at six years, more than 2x oversubscribed, offering a coupon of 3.625%.
The success of these issues, with the presence of leading European investors and asset managers, confirms the strong interest of institutional investors in unrestricted and intermediate housing throughout France.
The quality of the portfolio, comprising recent, new and sale-before-completion (VEFA) buildings, located on the most sought-after French markets, along with CDC Habitat’s integrated management platform, attracted investors, as did the relevance of the socially responsible investment approach adopted by the Lamartine Fund, closely tied to the two shareholders’ corporate mission.
A secure long-term financial trajectory
The Lamartine Fund, managed by AMPERE Gestion, holds a portfolio of more than 7,600 housing units throughout the mainland France, with an eventual value, once all programmes under development have been delivered, of €2.4 billion.
These issues secure most of the financing sought and will make it possible to produce 3,950 new housing units by 2026, in order to achieve the portfolio target while meeting the highest current environmental construction standards. Thanks to the establishment of interest-rate hedging initiated in early 2022, the overall financing cost of these two issues, with an average maturity of 8.4 years, was limited to 2.20%.
These bonds were the subject of an application for admission to trading on Euronext Paris and have a prospectus approved by the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority).
The operation was arranged by Natixis and Deutsche Bank as Global Coordinators and Lead Arrangers as well as HSBC France and La Banque Postale as Lead Arrangers.
The issuer was assisted in this operation by Gide and the arrangers by Allen&Overy.