The latest information on the rating, including rating reports and related methodologies, is available on this LINK.

Rating action

Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) has assigned a new BBB rating to Norwegian Properties ASA’s (NPRO) senior secured bond with ISIN NO0013350538. Scope has taken no action on NPRO’s BBB-/Negative issuer rating.

The full list of rating actions and rated entities is at the end of this rating action release.

Debt ratings

On 18. September 2024 (settlement date 1 October 2024) Norwegian Property has issued a three-year senior secured bond of NOK 545m 2024/2027 (NO0013350538) to refinance the NOK 505m 2019/2024 NPRO 16 bond (ISIN NO0010864952). The NOK 545m bond carries a floating rate coupon of 3 months Nibor +1.15%, payable quarterly in arrears, starting on 5 October 2024. Nordic Trustee has been appointed as trustee. A change of control put option has been built into the documentation as well as a maximum loan/value of 65% (incurrence) on the collateral ‘Bryggegata 7-9’ and ‘Støperiet’ which was valued by Cushman & Wakefield at NOK 839m as of Q2 2024. The bonds will be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The senior secured bond NO0013350538 is assigned a BBB rating, based on the underlying issuer rating of BBB-/Negative. This Senior Secured Note benefits from a first-ranking pledge on the properties ‘Bryggegata 7-9’ and ‘Støperiet’ in Oslo. In the event of a hypothetical default, additional pro rata proceeds from any liquidation proceeds would be distributed pari passu among all holders of senior secured debt.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

Overall, ESG factors have no impact on this credit rating action.

All rating actions and rated entities

Norwegian Property ASA

Issuer rating: BBB-/Negative, no action

Senior secured bond (ISIN NO0013350538) rating: BBB, new

Stress testing & cash flow analysis
No stress testing was performed. Scope Ratings performed its standard cash flow forecasting for the company.

Methodology
The methodologies used for this Credit Rating, (European Real Estate Rating Methodology, 28 March 2024; General Corporate Rating Methodology, 16 October 2023), are available on https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.
Information on the meaning of each Credit Rating category, including definitions of default, recoveries, Outlooks and Under Review, can be viewed in ‘Rating Definitions – Credit Ratings, Ancillary and Other Services’, published on https://www.scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Historical default rates of the entities rated by Scope Ratings can be viewed in the Credit Rating performance report at https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/regulatory/eu-regulation. Also refer to the central platform (CEREP) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA): http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. A comprehensive clarification of Scope Ratings’ definitions of default and Credit Rating notations can be found at https://www.scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Guidance and information on how environmental, social or governance factors (ESG factors) are incorporated into the Credit Rating can be found in the respective sections of the methodologies or guidance documents provided on https://scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.

Solicitation, key sources and quality of information
The Rated Entity and/or its Related Third Parties participated in the Credit Rating process.
The following substantially material sources of information were used to prepare the Credit Rating: public domain, the Rated Entity, third parties and Scope Ratings' internal sources.
Scope Ratings considers the quality of information available to Scope Ratings on the Rated Entity or instrument to be satisfactory. The information and data supporting the Credit Rating originate from sources Scope Ratings considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope Ratings does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data.
Prior to the issuance of the Credit Rating action, the Rated Entity was given the opportunity to review the Credit Rating and the principal grounds on which the Credit Rating are based. Following that review, the Credit Rating was not amended before being issued.

Regulatory disclosures
The Credit Rating is issued by Scope Ratings GmbH, Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin, Tel +49 30 27891-0. The Credit Rating is UK-endorsed.
Lead analyst: Thomas Faeh, Executive Director
Person responsible for approval of the Credit Rating: Philipp Wass, Managing Director
The Norwegian Properties ASA issuer Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 28 April 2022. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 3 May 2024.
The Credit Rating assigned to the bond was first released by Scope Ratings on 26 September 2024.

Potential conflicts
See www.scoperatings.com under Governance & Policies/Regulatory for a list of potential conflicts of interest disclosures related to the issuance of Credit Ratings, as well as a list of Ancillary Services and certain non-Credit Rating Agency services provided to Rated Entities and/or Related Third Parties.

Conditions of use / exclusion of liability
© 2024 Scope SE & Co. KGaA and all its subsidiaries including Scope Ratings GmbH, Scope Ratings UK Limited, Scope Fund Analysis GmbH, and Scope ESG Analysis GmbH (collectively, Scope). All rights reserved. The information and data supporting Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions and related research and credit opinions originate from sources Scope considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data. Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, or related research and credit opinions are provided ‘as is’ without any representation or warranty of any kind. In no circumstance shall Scope or its directors, officers, employees and other representatives be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental or other damages, expenses of any kind, or losses arising from any use of Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, related research or credit opinions. Ratings and other related credit opinions issued by Scope are, and have to be viewed by any party as, opinions on relative credit risk and not a statement of fact or recommendation to purchase, hold or sell securities. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results. Any report issued by Scope is not a prospectus or similar document related to a debt security or issuing entity. Scope issues credit ratings and related research and opinions with the understanding and expectation that parties using them will assess independently the suitability of each security for investment or transaction purposes. Scope’s credit ratings address relative credit risk, they do not address other risks such as market, liquidity, legal, or volatility. The information and data included herein is protected by copyright and other laws. To reproduce, transmit, transfer, disseminate, translate, resell, or store for subsequent use for any such purpose the information and data contained herein, contact Scope Ratings GmbH at Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin.