Freshfields advises Merlin Properties on €550m green bond issue

Freshfields has advised Merlin Properties on its successful issue of €550m of green bonds, the first syndicated bond issue in more than four years. The transaction attracted strong investor demand, with the order book reportedly more than three times oversubscribed. The green bonds are listed on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Merlin owns and manages over 4m sqm of real estate space across office buildings, logistics warehouses, shopping centres and data centres in Spain and Portugal. It is one of only two issuers in the Spanish market whose entire financial debt (both bank and bond borrowings) is entirely green, after it converted more than €4bn of senior bonds into green bonds in 2022.

The firm team advising Merlin was led by counsel Joe Amann, with the support of senior associate Chelsey Kaka. The wider deal team included partners Alfonso de Marcos and Bosco Montejo, senior associate Javier Sanchez, associates Inés Palma and Javier Gonzalez and trainee Javier Herrero.