An analysis of 30 RRF-financed projects and the impact of lower financing costs on equity returns, debt-servicing capacity and payback periods.
Key findings
+4.5%
increase In Equity IRR
+14.1%
improvement in DSCR
2.3 years
Equity payback acceleration
How Does RRF Subsidized Financing Enhance Investment Performance?
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has played a significant role in supporting private investment in Greece, not only by facilitating access to funding, but also by materially reducing its cost.
With RRF loans carrying interest rates as low as 0.35%–1.0% and financing up to 50% of eligible investment costs, the difference compared with conventional bank financing can be substantial.
But how materially does this interest-rate advantage improve investment returns and debt-servicing capacity?
Our analysis
To quantify the impact, we performed a sensitivity analysis on 30 RRF-financed investment projects, representing approximately €1.5 billion of aggregate investment and €705 million of RRF financing.
The sample covers a range of sectors, with investment activity predominantly concentrated on hotel development and renewable energy projects, both typically capital-intensive investments with relatively long investment horizons.
For each investment, we compared the RRF financing rate with a 4.5% commercial financing rate, while keeping all other operating and financing assumptions unchanged. This isolates the impact of the lower cost of debt provided through the RRF.
The 4.5% assumption provides a reasonable market benchmark. According to the Bank of Greece, in July 2026 the average interest rate on new floating-rate loans with defined maturity stood at 4.21% for corporates and 4.45% for SMEs.
The impact of lower financing costs
Across the sample, the RRF interest-rate advantage had a material impact on equity returns and debt-servicing capacity:
+4.5% increase in Equity IRR
+14.1% improvement in DSCR
2.3-year Equity payback acceleration
The lower interest burden directly supports higher shareholder returns, stronger debt coverage and faster recovery of invested capital.
What does this mean for investment attractiveness?
The value of RRF financing extends beyond direct interest cost saving, with a measurable impact on the risk-return profile of the investments analyzed.
A 4.5% increase in Equity IRR is material in investment appraisal and may strengthen the attractiveness of an investment to shareholders.
Similarly, the 14.1% improvement in DSCR increases the headroom available for debt service. This may be particularly relevant for projects operating closer to minimum coverage requirements.
The effect is especially relevant for capital-intensive and long-duration investments, where even a few hundred basis points of financing cost difference can compound into a significant impact over the life of the investment.
Overall, the analysis shows that the RRF interest-rate advantage has measurably improved investment returns, debt coverage and equity payback across the projects analyzed.
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