Housing association agrees new sustainability-linked funding
Savills Financial Consultants has helped a Manchester-based housing organisation secure three new deals worth £284m with Santander, NatWest and ABN AMRO.
Great Places Housing Group have recently outlined plans to invest and deliver much-needed affordable properties in communities across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire but, there was one minor factor holding them back, money.
However, Savills Financial Consultants have stepped in and helped the group secure three new deals. Funding of £109m and £100m has been agreed with existing lenders Santander and NatWest Bank and a new deal has been struck with ABN AMRO worth £75m. All loans are revolving credit facilities (RCFs).
Each of the three RCFs contain sustainability-linked performance measures which will provide a reduced interest rate if Great Places meet agreed energy efficiency targets on new and existing homes.
Mike Roche, director at Savills Financial Consultants, said: ‘We are delighted to continue and develop our relationships with NatWest and Santander and welcome ABN AMRO as a new banking partner. We received strong interest from the banking sector for this transaction and it is pleasing to move forward with sustainability-linked funding. Thank you to the Great Places team and Savills for their insight and support.’
‘There were a significant number of moving parts with these deals, so it is a testament to the Great Places team that they have been able to handle the process so diligently,’ Mike added. ‘The Savills Financial Consultants team has really enjoyed helping Great Places secure this increased financial capacity at the right pricing to help deliver their aims.’
Great Places’ current plans include further increasing resources to improve property conditions and customer services, as well as ambition to develop around 9,000 new affordable homes during the period 2020-30.
Martin Skinner, relationship director at NatWest, said: ‘We are a major lender to the UK affordable housing sector and are delighted to continue to support the important work of Great Places in providing much-needed social housing to the region. The RCF structure, coupled with sustainability-linked performance measures, will lead to more energy efficient homes across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
‘We are proud to have announced that in 2023 we completed nearly £3bn of new funding to help more people and families have access to housing. We support around 200 housing associations across the UK and are proud to announce our ambition to provide a further £5bn in funding to support the housing association sector by the end of 2026.’
Image: Great Places
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