Accolade has become the first-ever corporate issuer of green bonds in Czech crowns, following its recent public issue of green bonds with a five-year maturity and an interest rate of 8% per annum, listed on the Regulated Market of the Prague Stock Exchange. Ceska Sporitelna, J&T Banka, and Komercni Banka served as arrangers and joint lead managers.
The offering period on the bonds ran from May 7 to June 3, 2024. The originally planned issue of CZK 1.5 billion sold out in just one week, according to Accolade, leading to a doubling of the issue volume. According to an Accolade press release, “the strong demand then made it possible to allocate CZK 3 billion worth of bonds in just a fortnight. The minimum investment amount was CZK 10,000.”
The bonds have a five-year maturity, and are issued by Accolade Finco Czech 1, s.r.o., an entity established for the purpose of issuing bonds and subsequently providing financing to other companies in the Accolade Group. The company is 100% owned by parent company Accolade Holding a.s., which also provided a financial guarantee for the repayment of the bonds.
“The immense interest in Accolade bonds shows that investors, whose trust we greatly value, are well aware of the need to transform the Czech economy towards greater sustainability, efficiency, and robotization, and are willing to support it with high-quality instruments,” said Accolade CEO Milan Kratina. “It shows that the path of investing in green buildings with great tenants, which we set out on more than 10 years ago, is the right and feasible one.”
The White & Case law firm advised the Accolade Group on the issuance.