Investment manager Nuveen and its sustainable commercial real estate financing arm, Nuveen Green Capital (NGC), have announced the successful raising of $785 million in new capital commitments for the Nuveen C-PACE Lending Fund III. This initiative is designed to assist insurance investors in financing energy efficiency and sustainability projects within the commercial real estate sector.
C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) is a state-led public-private financing programme. It provides building owners and developers with access to capital for commercial property improvements aimed at enhancing energy efficiency, water conservation, and climate resilience. Repayments are made through an assessment on the property tax bill, offering a more affordable alternative to mezzanine debt and equity.
This fund represents the third iteration of Nuveen’s C-PACE Lending Funds, following the company’s acquisition of C-PACE financing firm Greenworks in 2021, which was subsequently rebranded as Nuveen Green Capital. Nuveen has reported that its C-PACE strategies now account for more than $6 billion in assets under management.
Joseph Pursley, Nuveen’s Head of Insurance for the Americas, commented on the development: “While sustainability and impact remain key considerations for insurers and their investments, we also continue to see life insurers prioritising longer duration, investment-grade asset-backed securities with attractive risk-adjusted returns. NGC’s C-PACE strategies meet both of these considerations, providing a solution that drives greater climate resiliency while being capital efficient, meeting risk requirements, and offering the scale that insurers seek in their investment portfolios.”