Bank Swedbank, a banking leader in Lithuania, together with Finnish capital bank OP Corporate Bank, gave a syndicated loan of EUR 159.5 million to Ozo turtas that manages the shopping centre Akropolis Vilnius.
Swedbank in Lithuania is the arranger and agent of this syndicated loan.
“In the second half of this year, the business faces even more challenges than at the beginning of the year – the uncertainty brought by the war in Ukraine and high inflation now go with multiple increase of energy costs, also a significant increase of interest rates. We greatly appreciate the trust in our business demonstrated by Swedbank and OP Bank. Effective management and planning of finances is particularly important for successful business and its stability. We will use most of the new loan to refinance the previous loan, also for strengthening of group’s liquidity and further development of the group,” says Manfredas Dargužis, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Akropolis Group.
“Akropolis is one of the best-known names in retail in Lithuania. By extending our successful cooperation with additional funding secured, we hope to contribute to the further development of the Group's shopping and business centres, which would give a positive boost to the whole retail sector in our country. We also appreciate steps taken by Akropolis Group in the domain of sustainability to create an even more attractive environment for visitors and employees, to increase efficiency and reduce the use of resources,” Antanas Sagatauskas, Head of Swedbank Corporate Customer Division, says.
Swedbank is the organizer and agent of this syndicated loan. The share provided by Swedbank in the new syndicated loan amounts to EUR 119.3 million.
Smooth cooperation of Akropolis Group and Swedbank has a history of over a decade. The previous syndicated loan, the remaining balance of which will be refinanced by use of funds of the new loan, was as well given to Ozo turtas by Swedbank and OP Corporate Bank in April 2019.
According to M. Dargužis, Akropolis Group and its companies finished the complicated COVID-19 pandemic period by successfully managing their risks and challenges. That is confirmed by the continuing successful cooperation with representatives of the financial sector and by Akropolis Group’s long-term borrowing ratings BB+ with a stable outlook re-confirmed by international credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings in June and August, respectively.
