Early Warning System

Countries

Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Baltic States

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Nov 28, 2023

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

UAB Urban Hub Holding

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Equity

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 33.01 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 30
Converted using 2023-11-28 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 93.96 million

Bank Documents

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Mar 11, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Nov 13, 2023

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of an equity investment of up to EUR 30 million in UAB Urban Hub Holding, a limited liability company incorporated in Lithuania, which will act as a joint venture (the "JV") between the Bank and UAB SBA Urban (the "Sponsor" or "SBA Urban"). The JV will invest across the Baltic States and (potentially) CEE in a platform of small business unit / last mile logistics projects comprised of retail, logistics and office spaces.

The EBRD's investment will enable the development of a number of small business unit / last mile logistics projects in the Baltic States and CEE countries.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised B (ESP 2019). The environmental and social issues associated with equity investment in a joint venture linked to the construction of a number of building units that will be used as office, retail and logistics spaces are site specific and can be addressed through standard mitigation measures.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

An equity investment of up to EUR 30 million in UAB Urban Hub Holding.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

SBA Urban, incorporated in Lithuania, is a regional real estate investor/developer with over fifteen years of experience, mainly focusing on commercial, industrial and residential projects. SBA Urban has successfully developed projects comprising over 220,000 square meters of gross building area including landmark Class A business centers Green Hall in Vilnius and Business Leaders Centre in Kaunas, as well as Inno Line, an industrial park in Klaipida, Lithuania. SBA Urban has implemented market-leading design, sustainability and community engagement solutions acclaimed by international awards and has certified its assets with BREEAM as well as Fitwel certifications. SBA Urban is the real estate arm of UAB SBA Grupe ("SBA Group"), one of Lithuania's largest business groups that operates in furniture, apparel production and real estate sectors. In 2022, SBA Group generated revenue of more than EUR 440 million. SBA Group employs more than 3,500 personnel and exports to over 50 countries.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	SBA Urban	Client	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

Andrius Mikalauskas
info@sbaurban.lt
+37067103323
https://www.sbaurban.lt/en/
Upes g. 21-1, Vilnius, Lithuania

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html