EQS-News: HORNBACH Group successfully integrates sustainability strategy into Group financing

HORNBACH Group successfully integrates sustainability strategy into Group financing

• Rendezvous clause effectively closed
• ESG component added to existing syndicated loan of
  EUR 500 million
• Sustainability targets and financing costs directly linked in future

Bornheim (Palatinate), Germany, May 28, 2024.

The HORNBACH Group (HORNBACH Holding AG & Co. KGaA; ISIN: DE0006083405) has successfully supplemented its existing syndicated loan with sustainability components. The financing of EUR 500 million agreed in September 2022 included a rendezvous clause, which allows the credit margin to be subsequently linked to specific ESG key performance indicators (“KPI’s”).

"Sustainability is one of the core requirements for our long-term success and the future viability of the HORNBACH Group. I am very pleased with the successful link of our Group financing and ESG strategy", commented Karin Dohm, CFO of HORNBACH Management AG.

With the conclusion of the ESG supplementary agreement, the financing costs of the syndicated loan are now also influenced by three ESG KPI’s, which reflect the Company’s targets in CO2 reduction in its own operations, product range and progress in increasing the proportion of female managers. As a consequence, the financing is consistent with some of the key fields of action of HORNBACH Group's sustainability strategy.

"Sustainability has become an important factor in our customer relationships," emphasized Tim Austrup, Head of Corporate Banking at Helaba. "We are therefore delighted that we were able to play a key role in supporting the HORNBACH Group in developing and structuring the ESG component."

A total of nine banks from Germany and abroad are involved in the syndicated credit line, which will run for up to seven years. The structuring of the sustainability component was supported by Helaba as ESG coordinator.

About HORNBACH Group

HORNBACH Group is an independent, family-run retail group under the umbrella of HORNBACH Holding AG & Co. KGaA, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and represented in the SDAX. The largest subsidiary, HORNBACH Baumarkt AG, operates 171 DIY megastores with garden centers (incl. specialist stores) and online shops in nine European countries. The Group also includes HORNBACH Baustoff Union, a regional builders' merchant company with 38 locations in southwestern Germany and France, as well as HORNBACH Immobilien AG, which develops retail real estate for the Group. In the financial year 2023/24 (reporting date: February 29, 2024), the HORNBACH Group generated net sales of EUR 6.2 billion, making it one of the five largest DIY and garden retail companies in Europe. The Group has a workforce of around 25,000 employees.

HORNBACH Holding on LinkedIn