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Aggregator issues £50m loan at 2.25%
Social housing bond aggregator Blend, part of The Housing Finance Corporation, has completed its second deal of the year at £50m, taking its total loan book close to £1bn.
Blend issued the £50m, 33-year loan to Ongo Homes at an all-in rate of 2.25% and a credit spread of 115 basis points over gilts, the government cost of borrowing.
The transaction was five times oversubscribed and sees Blend’s new growth in 2020/21 surpass £500m. Established three years ago, the fund now has a total loan book of £915m, with £87m of this issued in 2021 alone.
Blend said it has “consistently achieved market-beating rates” with the £525m issuance in the past year achieving average rates of below 2.2%.
In its first issuance of 2021 Blend secured £37m for a Welsh housing association at an all-in rate of 1.932%.
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Ongo Homes, which manages 10,000 homes across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, said the funding would help provide the affordable homes needed in the region.
Steve Hepworth, chief executive of Ongo, said: “At Ongo we truly believe that providing good quality, safe and secure homes is the bedrock of a strong community.
“The funding secured today through Blend will enable us to realise this vision as we invest further in our tenants and communities. We have an ambitious build programme aiming to build over 2,000 homes over the next 10 years and this funding will enable us to achieve that.”
Piers Williamson, chief executive of Blend, said: “Ongo have been fantastic to work with and we are proud to be able to fund housing organisations, like Ongo, that focus on truly affordable rents and building vibrant communities.
“We set up Blend precisely to help housing associations access long-term funding without hassle or comprising on price.
“We now have 14 borrowers in Blend and with our existing pipeline we look forward to surpassing Blend’s first £1bn of issuance in the coming weeks.”
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