Norway. NorgesGruppen ASA
| Date of agreement: | 22 Jun 2016 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Norway |
| Customer: | NorgesGruppen ASA |
| Amount in NOK: | NOK 500 million |
| Amount in EUR: | EUR 53.4 million |
| Maturity: | 10 years |
| NACE sector / loan type: | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
Project
The loan has been provided to finance the construction of a new semi-centralised cooling hub for storage and delivery of food products in Vestby, southern Norway, to support the operations of NorgesGruppen’s wholesale distribution division ASKO.
The new cooling hub will have a floor area of 22,000 m2 and will be connected to ASKO’s co-loading hub as well as its central hub in Vestby. The integration of the project into AKSO’s existing facilities will allow it to benefit from recycling installations and management of shared infrastructure.
The new cooling hub is expected to release capacity in ASKO’s other logistic centres thanks to the increased share of goods stocked in the new hub, and to improve the distribution of chilled food products throughout Norway.
The construction of the cooling hub began in 2014 and is expected to be completed in summer 2017.
NorgesGruppen ASA is one of Norway’s largest retailer and grocery wholesaling group, and it runs various retail outlets and supermarkets throughout the country. The company’s wholesale distribution division ASKO is responsible for the flow of goods and maintains 13 regional warehouses. NorgesGruppen is headquartered in Oslo. The group and its retailers employ around 40,000 people.
Fulfilment of NIB's mandate
Competitiveness:
The project is expected to reduce ASKO’s operational costs and improve productivity. The centralisation of logistic operations in one hub is predicted to increase the amount of deliveries to NorgesGruppen stores and to release capacity in regional logistic centres.
Environment:
NorgesGruppen has decided to install a number of energy efficiency measures in the building and to prepare for the installation of solar panels on the roof. The environmental impact of the project is rated as Neutral.
Sustainability summary
No environmental concerns have been identified.
