UAE’s Tabreed secures Dhs600m revolving credit facility

UAE district cooling firm Tabreed has raised a Dhs600m ($163.4m) loan from a group of local banks to advance sustainable cooling solutions.

The loan, a green revolving credit facility, has a five-year maturity and will be used to finance projects and investments that adhere to the cooling company’s green finance framework that was established in 2022.

“The facility is designed to introduce highly efficient cooling solutions into the GCC market, meeting the growing demand for sustainable and innovative technologies,” Tabreed said in a statement.

The company said the funds will also support projects dedicated to enhancing energy and water efficiency and those focused on proficient wastewater management.

“This partnership aligns with and amplifies our commitment to lend, invest, and facilitate over $135bn in sustainable and transition financing by 2030. Together we are ensuring that the UAE’s built environment can transition towards a greener future,” said Fawaz Abusneineh, acting head of Global Corporate Finance at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

FAB coordinated the deal together with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirates NBD.

Tabreed champions sustainable cooling

Meanwhile, Tabreed forayed into India’s district cooling industry in May with a Dhs44.34m investment in TATA Realty’s Intellion Park special economic zone development in Gurugram.

Through the investment, the Dubai-listed firm acquired the existing cooling infrastructure at the Intellion Park development, which covers a total area of 3.5 million square feet and plans to develop additional capacity to meet the development’s rising demand for cooling services.

Moving away from the standard market practice in India where real estate developers own and operate cooling assets through facility management contracts, Tabreed will provide cost-effective and efficient cooling solutions for tenants of Intellion Park.

District cooling firms deliver chilled water via insulated pipes to cool offices and industrial and residential buildings.

Tabreed reported nine-month revenues of Dhs1.8bn, a 10 per cent increase compared to Dhs1.7bn during the same period in 2022.

The company’s profit from operation increased by 3 per cent to Dhs611m while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached Dhs914m with a margin of 50 per cent.

Tabreed has a connected capacity of more than 1.3 million refrigeration tons (RT).

The cooling firm delivered an additional 41,319 RT across its portfolio in the first nine months of the year, having commissioned the SeaWorld Abu Dhabi plant in the UAE, two new plants in Saudi Arabia, and completed an acquisition of a plant from Tata Realty in India.

Read: Tabreed invests Dhs44m in TATA Realty’s Intellion Park