Mace leverages carbon and social value credentials to secure £60m liquidity financing facilities

Mace, one of the UK’s leading consultancy and construction businesses, has announced today that it has secured two ESG-linked liquidity financing facilities, worth a combined £60m, through two new agreements with BBVA, a major Spanish bank and JP Morgan, a leading US bank. The largest facility, worth £50m, has been enabled through the Export Development Guarantee (EDG) and supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The two financing facilities consist of a £10 million revolving credit facility signed by BBVA, and a £50 million facility financed by J.P. Morgan through the EDG facility, promoted by the export credit agency UKEF. BBVA also acted as sustainability coordinator for both facilities. 

The financing facilities are directly linked to three ESG-led KPIs, which measure Mace’s performance on carbon reduction, increasing the use of renewable energy and improving health and safety performance. Mace’s performance against these KPI’s is tracked, and influence the interest rate paid on the facilities, further incentivising the company to deliver its targets for ESG performance.  

The financing facilities will provide liquidity support for Mace’s ambitious global growth plans and combined represent one of the largest ESG-linked loan facilities agreed in the UK construction sector. They follow the announcement last year of Mace’s 2026 Business Strategy, which included growth plans that would see the business secure revenues of more than £3bn by 2026. 

Mace announced in 2021 that it had achieved net zero carbon status in 2020 through a significant reduction in emissions from its own operations and the use of gold-standard carbon offsets. It has now committed to maintain its net zero position, further reduce operational carbon and work with its clients to remove more than a million tonnes of carbon from the work it delivers on their behalf by 2026. 

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

“I am proud that Mace is generating sustainable profits that will create jobs, support communities overseas and protect the environment. This sustainability-linked loan shows the market this government is leading the world on supporting our transition to green technology. 
 
We are offering a clear and powerful incentive. If Mace meets or exceed the green targets set, UK Export Finance will charge them less interest and they get a better deal. If they fail to cut emissions by as much as they say, we increase the rates, and they pay more. By putting sustainability at the core of its growth plans Mace is setting a powerful example for others to follow.”

Richard Bienfait, Mace’s Chief Financial Officer, said: 

“We are delighted to be entering into this agreement with BBVA and J.P. Morgan, which will support our growth overseas and our important sustainability priorities. As a purpose-led business, Mace is committed to ensure that we do everything we can to pursue a sustainable world – and this landmark financing arrangement reflects that ambition.” 

Elena Guillem, Global Relationship Manager for Mace group at BBVA UK added:

“BBVA is thrilled to have worked with Mace in its journey toward sustainable finance. More and more of BBVA’s strategic clients, like Mace, are looking for coherent financing alternatives that are consistent with the commitment to add value to society and the environment.”

John Meakin, Global Head of Export and Agency Finance at J.P. Morgan, said:

“J.P. Morgan is a market leader in sustainability-linked finance and this is the first time we have introduced an ESG-linked margin adjustment mechanism into one of our Export Development Guarantee transactions. We are delighted to achieve this “first” with Mace, BBVA and our long-time ECA partner UKEF, which builds on the firm’s strategy to support the transition to a lower-carbon economy, including a 10-year target to finance and facilitate $2.5 trillion to contribute to sustainable development, including $1 trillion for green initiatives”.