JD Group has announced an €11 million bond issue which it says will be used to finalise the redevelopment of its Ħal Far factory and to build a commercial office building off Dun Karm Bypass in Birkirkara.
The first tranche of the overall €25 million bond issue, released in October 2022, was used to complete the first phase of development at its factory, as well as for general corporate funding.
Established in 1979, the aluminium, steel and stainless steel works business modernised and expanded after 2004 when Josef Dimech took the reins.
Earlier this week, it was announced that seasoned CEO Franco Azzopardi has taken over at the helm, in a move the company says will strengthen its corporate governance structure and further improve performance at the operational level.
Of the new €11 million bonds, which carry a coupon rate of six per cent and are redeemable in 2033, €7 million will be used for an intra-company loan to JD Operations, to complete the expansion of its factory in Ħal Far, while the rest will be dedicated to the development of a site in Birkirkara.
The Ħal Far Factory Expansion
The built-up area of the company’s Ħal Far factory will increase from 5,308 sqm to circa 27,011 sqm. INDIS, the landowner, has already given its approval for the development.
The new development, which will cost a total of €12 million, will include between 10,000 to 15,000 sqm of space available for subleasing for industrial use.
It will comprise an office block suspended over a three-story-high steel truss, covering a footprint of 1,722 sqm, an industrial area of 19,812 sqm, loading yards and storage areas of 3,427 sqm, and roads comprising area of 2,050 sqm.
Works are expected to be complete in mid-2024.
The Birkirkara Project
The other €4 million raised through the new bonds will be loaned from JD Finance to JD Birkirkara to finance a Birkirkara office complex.
The site sits on a portion of land known as Ta’ Lannara, situated in Dun Karm Street (Birkirkara Bypass), corner with Kanonku Karm Pirotta Street, measuring circa 1,437 sqm, together with a portion of adjacent land measuring 504 sqm situated at Toni Wizzini Street.
JD Birkirkara obtained clearance from the Planning Authority (PA/4895/16 and PA/4369/19) for a six-storey car park, a store, and six floors of offices.
The development will include around 4,000 sqm of office space and 128 car spaces, for a total built up space of 10,000 sqm.
Main Image:The Quad - a JD Group project where it was engaged for the design, fabrication, supply and installation of a glazed facade system, external stainless-steel railing and aluminium composite cladding of the Mriehel complex
