Housing association in Northern Ireland secures £30m investment from insurer

Roderick Canning, finance director at Apex, said: “PIC is a valued partner following our initial transaction in 2021 and having the opportunity to work again with a team that has such a strong understanding of the social housing sector makes for an efficient and successful process. We valued PIC’s flexibility, including the ability to defer drawdown.”

Celia Franch Lopez, debt origination manager at PIC, said: “The investment provides an attractive risk profile in an area of high demand for social housing. In addition, the maturity profile is well-suited to our liabilities.

“This investment complements our portfolio, providing low risk, long-term, secure cash flows that match our pension liabilities for decades into the future.”

PIC was also one of three investors in Clanmil Housing Association in October 2022, another Northern Irish landlord.

Towards the end of last year, PIC made its first direct equity investment in affordable housing with a £50m deal to build 125 homes, while targeting up to 1,000 homes in the long term.

The specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes said the new investment was part of a “long-term” partnership with London Square, the developer, and Square Roots, its for-profit subsidiary.

At the time, PIC said it was aiming to invest £500m over the next five years to build around 1,000 affordable homes.

The firm, which has £44.9bn in financial investments and insures 339,900 pension scheme members, has invested heavily in the affordable housing sector over the past decade.