You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
SNG agrees £100m new funding with Irish bank
Sovereign Network Group (SNG) has secured a new £100m revolving credit facility with the UK division of Allied Irish Banks (AIB).
The landlord, which formed a year ago through the merger of Sovereign and Network Homes, is expected to use the funds to help to build 25,000 homes over the next decade.
Anup Dholakia, director of treasury at SNG, said the £100m would be “important in helping us realise those ambitions”.
READ MORE
It is the latest borrowing arranged by the 84,000-home group to further its development plans.
In July, SNG agreed a £50m unsecured short-term trade loan facility with Barclays. And in January, the landlord raised £400m through the bond markets, which was its first public issuance since its formation.
The £100m facility is a new agreement, but Network Homes did have a pre-existing banking relationship with AIB, an SNG spokesperson told Inside Housing.
The term length on the new loan is five years, with two one-year extension options. The interest rate was not disclosed.
In its last full year, SNG reported a 12% fall in surplus, to £62.9m. However, Mark Washer, the group’s chief executive, said it will remain a developing landlord.
Mr Washer had previously told Inside Housing that SNG will “buck the trend” on development cutbacks elsewhere across the sector.
Other major landlords have slashed their development plans amid the current tough conditions.
A year ago, S&P downgraded SNG’s credit rating. The credit rating agency said it believed the landlord’s “debt-funded development programme and steadily increasing investments in existing homes will weaken its credit metrics more than previously assumed”.
Law firm Winckworth Sherwood advised SNG on the new £100m facility.
Sign up for our development and finance newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
