Greening Affordable
Housing with Transcend

Transend is a JSE listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with an affordable housing portfolio consisting of 22 properties, comprising 4,012 units located primarily in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Absa is proud to have supported and enabled the “greening” of the Transcend rental portfolio by providing a R147.5m green loan.  Transcend has Edge Certified a third of their portfolio and the remaining certifications will be rolled out in the short term. Edge Certification, the gold standard of residential sustainability measurement, ensures properties are at least 20% more energy, water and embodied energy materials efficient.

“Implementing LED lighting, low-flow taps and renewable energy measures to green our portfolio decreases operating costs for us and more importantly our tenants, both benefiting our people and leading our ESG objectives. This contributes towards our goal of becoming a fully sustainable fund and a low-carbon, inclusive economy” says Myles Kritzinger (Transcend – CEO).

“Through this transaction, we at Absa via collaboration between Commercial Property Finance and Sustainable Finance have demonstrated our continued commitment to our clients’ growth and sustainability strategies within the affordable housing segment” says Amelia Dieperink (Head: CPF – Affordable Housing).