Financial institution Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has structured a R4.45-billion funding package to support energy investment company Reatile Group’s expansion across South Africa’s energy sector, including significant investments in renewable energy.

The financing positions Reatile to scale its impact across gas, petrochemicals, fuel storage and renewable energy.

The funding package includes a R3.35-billion holding company (HoldCo) facility and a R1.1-billion ring-fenced facility dedicated to Reatile’s renewable-energy platform.

The capital will enable Reatile to expand its presence across the energy value chain and advance a renewable-energy pipeline targeting about 6 GW.

Reatile, founded more than 20 years ago by executive chairperson Simphiwe Mehlomakulu, has developed a broad presence in the energy sector, with investments in liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, natural gas, renewable energy, fuel storage and bitumen.

RMB has been a strategic partner to Reatile for several years. The bank supported the group’s initial renewable-energy expansion in 2021 through its infrastructure sector solutions (IFS) and principal investments (PI) teams, brought the business into the family office group solutions (FOGS) portfolio in 2022, and provided funding for equity commitments across multiple greenfield projects between 2023 and 2025.

This latest package represents one of the largest HoldCo facilities concluded by FOGS, with RMB acting as sole lender and strategic partner to Reatile. The bank combined expertise across FOGS, IFS and PI to provide a structure that allows the group to move between facilities as its strategic priorities evolve.

“RMB provided a true multidisciplinary team that worked closely with Reatile to design a funding solution that supports Reatile’s ambitions. The teamwork and client engagement on this transaction have been major factors in its success,” RMB IFS transactor David Jones said on February 5.

“Reatile plays a pivotal role across South Africa’s energy value chain, and we are proud to support the next phase of its growth. Their position in the sector is strengthening at exactly the moment when reliable and diverse energy sources matter most,” RMB FOGS transactor Eric Mphohoni added.