SBA Urban launches an 8 million bond issue for Urban HUB project in Kaunas
The SBA-managed ‘Urban hub Investments’, developer of the Urban HUB stock-office campuses in Kaunas and Vilnius is launching a two-year public bond issue of EUR 8 million. The investment will be used for the development of the first phase of ‘Urban HUB’ in Kaunas, the largest stock-office project in the Baltic States.
Bonds – for private and institutional investors
“SBA Urban” is making a name for itself on the capital markets with “Urban HUB”, a 70,000 m2 project in Kaunas. In a strategic location close to major transport arteries, the project has already earned the trust of some key capital investors and potential financing partners. As interest in the project grows, we have decided to diversify our financing sources and offer a fixed return option to a wider range of investors. We believe that a reliable and financially strong developer who knows how to develop a competitive project in a fast-growing stock-office sector, will be of interest to investors, both private and institutional,” commented ‘SBA Urban’ Chief Investment Officer Kasparas Juška.
Apart from the principal project investor and developer, SBA group’s ‘SBA Urban’, Tautvydas Barštys jr. and his company TABA invest have also invested 11 million uuro in “Urban HUB” Kaunas and Vilnius. Negotiations with an international institutional investor for the development of existing and future Urban HUB projects in Lithuania and abroad are also well advanced. In parallel, a bank financing approval has been received for the first phase of the development of ‘Urban HUB’ in Kaunas.
The emission distribution is planned across several stages – it is hoped that the first one will attract 5 million Euros. The bonds will have a 10.75% annual interest rate, with quarterly interest payments. The minimum investment amount is 10,000 Euros. Bonds are available for purchase to private and institutional investors, with the distribution starting on 20th September and ending on 2nd October. Šiaulių Bankas and ‘Redgate Capital’ will be distributing the bonds.
“Šiaulių Bankas takes pride in its role in expanding Lithuania’s capital markets, and companies like ‘Urban Hub Investments’ are an integral part of this growth and an excellent example of how combining sources of financing can contribute to a company’s development. I believe that, together, we are creating a dynamic and thriving capital market environment, one which will open up new opportunities for businesses to diversify their sources of financing, and provide more choices for investors, and in so doing foster potential in the Lithuanian market from a number of perspectives,” commented Eglė Džiugytė, Head of Investor Relations at Šiaulių Bankas.
The end of the development of the project is scheduled to be in spring 2024
“The funds received from bond issuance will be directed towards the rapid growth of the first phase of ‘Urban HUB,’ covering an area of 22,000 m2. The general contractor ‘YIT Lietuva’ startef the construction construction efforts for the project, in collaboration with the general contractor ‘YIT Lietuva,’ started in April of this year. All four buildings of the first phase have been erected, and glass, shopfronts, and walls are being installed. Soon, we will begin the installation of the distinctive facade and interior works,” commented Giedrius Muliuolis, the CEO of ‘Urban HUB’.It is expected that the first businesses in Urban HUB Kaunas will open in the second quarter of 2024.. In the second phase of the project, “IKI Lietuva” has planned a 1,700 m2 store , alsoone of the first E-stations in the country – a new concept space for electric vehicle drivers, providing not only the opportunity to charge vehicles at 8 fast-charging stations but also to rest, dine, and enjoy green spaces, will start its’ operations as well.
Investments in the ‘Urban HUB’ project in Kaunas, which covers more than 70,000 m2, are expected to exceed 100 million Euros. It is expected that, in this strategic location between the A1 and A6 highways, more than 100 companies from various sectors will be established, employing 800 employees.
In parallel with the Kaunas project, ‘SBA Urban’ is also developing a 22,000 m2 stock-office project in Vilnius.
