For Alberto Bezzi, senior banker in Crédit Agricole’s corporate and investment banking team based in Milan, working with Prada on its recent sustainability linked loan (SLL) made perfect sense.
“The luxury fashion industry is a leader in terms of the sustainability agenda,” he says.
“Given the brand’s focus and our expertise in this area, we believe that working together on the sustainability linked loan was a natural next step for the both of us.”
In addition to arranging the deal, Crédit Agricole also acted as sustainability coordinator, sustainability adviser and facility agent, and Crédit Agricole Italia acted as the lender.
A Prada spokesperson tells Euromoney: “This is a first for Prada and first for the luxury fashion industry, so we were keen to work really closely with the bank to ensure that the technical terms of the deal fitted our sustainability vision.”
“Discussions about the loan began in the spring and were finalized on November 5, so all in all we hashed out the details relatively quickly. Now that the first deal is done, we hope that other luxury retailers follow in our footsteps.”