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EBRD provides loan to Rönesans Gayrimenkul Yatırım covered by EU financial guarantee -
Loan to finance capex support of shopping centres in the region -
Project to help preserve livelihoods in the affected cities
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a senior loan of €30 million to Kahramanmaraş Piazza shopping centre, a special purpose vehicle that is fully owned by Rönesans Gayrimenkul Yatırım A.Ş. (RGY).
The project will finance the capex support of the Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa Piazza shopping centres and help to preserve human capital and livelihoods in the region.
RGY is the commercial-real-estate-development and investment subsidiary of Rönesans Holding, and has an asset portfolio of 16 properties, which had a gross value of €2.6 billion at the end of 2023. RGY is Türkiye’s largest commercial-real-estate-investment group with its own managed projects.
The funding will be backed by a financial guarantee from the European Union. The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) supports sustainable investments in the EU neighbourhood and Türkiye, for example in the infrastructure sector.
In the weeks that followed the earthquakes in Türkiye, the EBRD announced a comprehensive two-year response package worth €1.5 billion. The package includes credit lines to individuals and companies affected by the earthquakes, as well as infrastructure investments and support for small and medium-sized enterprises and private-sector partnerships. More than half of the investment package has already been made available to companies and individuals in the region.
Jürgen Rigterink, First Vice President and Head of Client Services Group of the EBRD, said: “I was shocked and saddened to see during my visit the devastating impact the earthquakes have had on the affected region, and I continue to be inspired by the resilience and determination of the local population here.”
“Reconstruction is a long process and can take many years, but it begins by allowing the private sector to regain its vibrant potential. I am proud to say that we have already made available more than half of our initial €1.5 billion investment response, and we will continue to stand with Türkiye on its path to recovery by supporting projects that preserve the livelihoods of the region.”
The 60-million Euro EFSD + Guarantee “Municipal, Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience Guarantee Programme Plus” supports EBRD’s lending to corporates or public utilities in the EU Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood, as well as in Türkiye, for investments in green technologies and in the transport and infrastructure sectors.
Mathieu Bousquet, Director for Thematic Support, Coordination of Policy and Financial Instruments at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations added: “We are very satisfied to see our guarantee to EBRD contributing to the economic reactivation in the regions affected by the February earthquake in Türkiye and providing specific support to women in the retail business. We look forward to a further expansion of this support through our partnership with EBRD”.
The shopping centre has emerged as a vital hub in the city. As part of Rönesans Holding’s earthquake-relief efforts, the shopping centre has taken on the crucial role of distributing aid to affected citizens and offering temporary shelter to 1,000 victims and addressing their fundamental needs.
İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, Chair of the Board of Directors of Rönesans Holding, said: “We have had a strong and longstanding partnership with the EBRD for 14 years. We are pleased to collaborate with the Bank on our social infrastructure investment projects in Türkiye and potential projects in Central Asia. We have secured more than €500 million in financing from the EBRD for our healthcare investment projects in the past, and we are now extending our collaboration to the real-estate sector in Türkiye. I believe that our partnership will contribute to the ongoing recovery efforts in the earthquake-affected region, as part of our efforts to implement impactful projects to mitigate the effects of earthquakes.”
RGY will also provide a skills-development programme and craft courses for women. A sales training course will prove beneficial for the tenants of the Kahramanmaraş Piazza shopping centre, who are facing labour shortages following significant migration from the city after the earthquakes.
The EBRD is one of the key investors in Türkiye, with almost €19.5 billion invested in 440 projects and trade facilitation lines since 2009, the majority of them in the private sector.
