UniCredit completed a €73 million green mini-perm project financing for Teike, the third-largest independent pure player in Italy’s public lighting sector and wholly owned by Pioneer Infrastructure Partners.
The financing, supported by an SACE green guarantee, will fund Teike’s organic expansion, strategic acquisitions, and refinancing of existing debt, while accelerating investment in energy-efficient and smart city infrastructure.
The transaction required a robust, lender-grade financial model capable of supporting a complex asset-based project finance structure. Teike’s portfolio comprises long-term public lighting concessions with over 110 municipalities, delivering stable but contractually nuanced, inflation-linked cash flows across multiple regions.
Given the green classification of the loan, lenders also required confidence that projected revenues, costs, and investment assumptions aligned with long-term sustainability and energy transition objectives.
Steer was appointed as Independent Model Reviewer, providing model review services, verifying the integrity and reliability of the financial model underpinning the transaction.
Our work included:
• Verifying that all key assumptions from the Data Book were correctly reflected in the financial model;
• Reviewing the model’s formulae, algorithms, calculations, and macros to confirm logical integrity, internal consistency, and arithmetic accuracy;
• Testing tax and accounting assumptions to ensure alignment with applicable accounting principles and relevant legislation;
• Verifying the model’s coherence with project contracts and financial documentation;
• Reviewing the covenants to ensure correct interpretation of definitions and to confirm no covenant breaches were projected;
• Testing the model’s ability to run the agreed sensitivities and evaluating the robustness of its structure and calculation routines.
Steer’s independent review gave lenders confidence that the financial model accurately reflected Teike’s business fundamentals and the risk profile of the transaction. This enabled UniCredit to successfully close the €73 million green financing, supporting Teike’s growth strategy and its role as a strategic platform for municipalities delivering energy-efficient public infrastructure.
The transaction supports Italy’s national energy and climate objectives by enabling investment in efficient public lighting, smart city solutions, and wider energy efficiency measures. Steer’s model review played a critical role in ensuring the financing was bankable, transparent, and aligned with green finance standards, helping unlock capital for sustainable urban infrastructure at scale.
Talk to Raffael Massa about independent model review and financial assurance for bankable infrastructure financing.
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