Nuveen Green Capital Advances Efforts to Expand Sustainable Financing Solution to U.K.
BISWIRE/May 12, 2025 — Nuveen Green Capital (NGC), a national leader in sustainable commercial real estate financing solutions and an affiliate of Nuveen, the $1 trillion+ asset manager and wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, is spearheading efforts to bring a powerful new commercial real estate financing solution to the U.K. — Property Linked Finance (PLF) — modeled after the highly successful Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) framework in the United States.
As the U.K. accelerates toward its ambitious net zero goals, one critical challenge remains: how to affordably finance the deep energy retrofits and climate resilience improvements needed across the commercial property sector. PLF would address this growing need.
Once launched, PLF will be a first-of-its-kind financing instrument in the U.K., providing long-term, low-cost financing linked to a commercial property. PLF offers a new funding mechanism to access private capital for property owners to invest in low carbon technologies, energy efficiency, and climate resiliency projects in the U.K.’s built environment, which would provide significant economic, operational, and environmental benefits.
PLF would make much-needed private capital not only available but also affordable, ensuring property owners can access fixed-rate, long-term financing without liquidity constraints or short repayment periods associated with traditional forms of commercial real estate financing. PLF’s structure would align the needs of owners, tenants, investors, and the public sector — creating a pathway for large-scale building decarbonization.
NGC is exploring the launch of a PLF product this calendar year. This new product is the subject of active discussions with the government and other market participants. NGC endeavors to create a secure, flexible, and accretive financing tool for the U.K.'s commercial real estate market.
"We're finding that strong foundations exist to set up a robust market for PLF, and momentum has hit critical mass to implement this. We've had significant interest in this kind of financing mechanism, which mirrors the successful C-PACE product from the United States," said Aaron Kraus, Managing Director, Head of Market Development and Strategy, Nuveen Green Capital.
“While PLF is inspired by the U.S. C-PACE program, our team is not simply importing an American solution, instead we’re working to innovate and lead. We are collaborating closely with U.K. government agencies, local authorities, and industry stakeholders to craft a framework that fits the U.K.’s unique legal, financial, and commercial real estate systems,” said David Schatz, Vice President of Policy for Nuveen Green Capital.
NGC has been a leader and an innovator in the C-PACE industry, having designed and scaled the first successful C-PACE program in the United States. In just a decade, the C-PACE industry grew from a $211 million market in 2015 to nearly $10 billion by the end of 2024. NGC has been at the forefront of this growth, providing almost 50% of the total C-PACE originations volume in 2024.
With policy momentum building and stakeholders engagement underway, PLF could soon become a cornerstone of the U.K.’s commercial real estate construction projects and its clean energy future — as well as a model for other markets around the world.
About Nuveen Green Capital
With over $3 billion originated, Nuveen Green Capital is a national leader in sustainable commercial real estate financing solutions and an affiliate of Nuveen, the $1 trillion+1 [1] asset manager and wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA. The company, which was founded by C-PACE industry pioneers who helped design the nation's first successful statewide C-PACE program [2], has grown to offer a market-leading suite of accretive CRE financing products and a full-service lending platform with all underwriting, legal, and asset management functions executed in-house.
[1] Total assets under management (AUM) as of 1/1/2025
[2] The United States Department of Energy: 2016 C-PACE Report lists the Connecticut C-PACE program as the first statewide C-PACE program in the U.S.
