Sweden, Finland: Hemsö uses EIB financing for energy efficient social infrastructure

• The SEK 1 billion financing will support the new construction and redevelopment to highly energy efficient standards of social infrastructure.
• The project includes a total of eight new buildings under construction in Sweden, as well as the redevelopment of a ninth building in Finland.
• Construction plans include healthcare and research buildings, elderly care homes and educational facilities.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a SEK 1 billion (EUR 99 million) loan agreement with Hemsö Fastighets AB. The Swedish property owner will use the up to 25 years long-term financing facility to create more energy efficient social infrastructure in Sweden and Finland. In total, nine buildings for social services, including nursing homes, a medical facility, pre-schools, school facilities and combinations of these will be built or redeveloped to ‘nearly-zero-energy-building’ (NZEB) standards. Eight of the properties are located in Sweden and concern new buildings, whereas one is located in Finland and concerns a full redevelopment and new extension.

Thomas Östros, vice-president of the EIB, commented: “Conserving energy and heat is a more of an issue in the Nordics than elsewhere, making energy efficiency a key area for climate change mitigation there. We are very pleased to renew our partnership with Hemsö through this project, even more so because it focuses on important social infrastructure, meaning that this will directly benefit citizens on a very local level. Residential and public buildings are responsible for a large part of our CO₂ output, so making them more energy efficient is very important if we want to limit our carbon footprint.”

The facility will be unsecured and will provide Hemsö with a sustainable, flexible and affordable source of external funding. As most of the services delivered in Hemsö’s premises are taxpayer-funded, the financial added value offered by the EIB will ultimately benefit Swedish citizens. The total gross area of the facilities is 71,500 m² and will be built to energy efficiency standards lower than those required by Swedish and Finnish law.

“The EIB's focus on green and socially important investments fits well with Hemsö’s business model for developing sustainable social infrastructure for the public sector. This latest loan diversifies the company's financing and allows us to continue focusing on long-term funding for the company's planned projects. I am particularly pleased that Sköndalsvillan, the first nursing home in Sweden to achieve a ZeroCO2 environmental certification, is included in the loan portfolio.” said Nils Styf, Hemsö’s Chief Executive Officer.

The demand for social infrastructure rising in Sweden, not only due to demographic reasons, but also because of ongoing urbanisation: Swedish cities have been among EU’s fastest growing cities for some years now. The project supports national and European targets for energy efficiency and contributes to CO₂ emission reduction, thus supporting climate change objectives as well as diversification of energy supply objectives in the EU.

Background information:

In 2020, the EIB made available in excess of €2 billion for Swedish projects. The EIB borrows money on the capital markets and lends it to projects that support EU objectives.

The EIB is the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. It works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy, and is the world’s largest multilateral borrower and lender. The EIB Group, consisting of the EIB and the EIF, provides finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives, around 90% of its activities are in Europe.

Hemsö is Sweden’s leading owner and developer of properties for social infrastructure. The business model is based on sustainably owning, managing and developing properties for nursing homes, education, health care and the judiciary sector. Hemsö owns around 350 properties in Sweden, Germany and Finland.