BOCHK contributes to a £675 million GBP syndicated green loan for The Peninsula London Refinancing Project (Linked to Record ID#92065)

Project narrative

On March 6, 2018, a syndicate of five banks — including Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) — signed a £650 million GBP ($7.02 billion HKD) syndicated term loan facility agreement with HSH Financial Services Limited — a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) — for progress payments to cover the construction costs of the Peninsula London Project. This facility carried a maturity of five years (with a final maturity date in 2013) and an interest rate of LIBOR plus a fixed margin. This facility was unsecured. HSH provided a guarantee for this facility. Record ID#92065 captures BOCHK's £130 million GBP contribution to the 2018 loan. Then, in October 2022, a syndicate of nine banks — including BOCHK — entered into a £675 million GBP ($5.95 billion HKD) syndicated green term loan facility agreement with HSH Financial Services Limited for The Peninsula London Refinancing Project. This loan carried a maturity period of three years and a final maturity date in 2025. This was a green loan under HSH's Green Financing Framework, as aligned with the 2021 Green Loan Principles and Guidance on Green Loan Principles jointly published by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), the Loan Market Association (LMA) and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA). The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance the 2018 £650 million GBP loan for The Peninsula London Project and to continue to fund the construction and operation of The Peninsula London. Record ID#101339 captures BOCHK's contribution to the 2022 loan. In addition to BOCHK, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank), United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB), Hang Seng Bank Limited, Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), The Bank of East Asia, Limited (BEA), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). All these lenders served as arrangers. HSBC served as Green Loan advisor. The Peninsula London Project sought to construct a 189-room hotel, known as The Peninsula London hotel, and 26 luxury residential apartments, known as The Peninsula Residences London, at 1-5 Grosvenor Place in Belgravia, overlooking Hyde Park Corner, the Wellington Arch in London, Green Park and Buckingham Palace gardens. The Peninsula London also featured a one-story shopping arcade with nine total retail shops with over 1,100 square feet of shopping spaces. In 2013, HSH purchased a 50% interest in the lease of 1-5 Grosvenor Place in Belgravia, central London for £132.5 million GBP. In 2016, HSH bought out its equity partner Grosvenor for £107.5 million GBP, although Grosvenor would remain as the landlord under the 150-year lease. The Peninsula London hotel was designed by Hopkins Architects Partnership. The interiors were designed by Peter Marino Architect. Archer Humphryes and CAP Atelier designed the food and beverage outlets. Speirs + Major designed specialist lighting. WSP and Cundall provided engineering services. Prime Development was the development and project manager. Sir Robert McAlpine Limited was the constructor manager. Arcadis was the cost manager. Keltbray provided demolition services and Cementation Skanska provided piling services. The project was originally expected open in 2021. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 2, 2017. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed implementation for several months, leading to a new expected completion date in the third quarter of 2023. The hotel opened on September 12, 2023.