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Large Northern landlord secures three new loans worth £284m
Great Places Housing Group has agreed new loans worth £284m with three major banks.
This week, the 25,500-home landlord announced the new revolving credit facilities (RCFs) with Santander, NatWest and ABN AMRO.
Funding of £109m and £100m has been agreed with existing lenders Santander and NatWest respectively. New partner ABN AMRO has lent Great Places £75m.
Rutilio Merién, head of UK coverage real estate at ABN AMRO, said the firm was “pleased to further support the social housing sector and the inclusion of ESG [environmental, social and governance]-linked KPIs [key performance indicators] in our facility with Great Places resonates very well with ABN AMRO’s purpose and strategy”.
All three RCFs contain sustainability-linked performance measures, which see a reduced interest rate in the event that Great Places meets agreed energy-efficiency targets on new and existing homes.
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The Manchester-based housing association will use the funds to continue investing in its existing homes, alongside its ambition to develop around 9,000 new affordable homes by 2030.
Mike Gerrard, chief financial officer at Great Places, 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.”
Savills Financial Consultants advised with the deal and the transaction was also supported by Addleshaw Goddard and Devonshires.
Mike Roche, director at Savills, said: “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.”
Alice Overton, a partner at Devonshires, said: “We are delighted to have advised on these transactions and to have supported Great Places in achieving its energy efficiency and wider sustainability ambitions.”
Santander and NatWest also expressed their delight at getting their respective deals done with the housing association.
Jane Johnstone, senior director of housing finance at Santander UK, said: “This funding will ultimately facilitate improvement in existing housing provision and the continued development of much-needed, new affordable homes.”
Martin Skinner, relationship director at NatWest, explained how the RCF structure working, alongside the “sustainability-linked performance measures, will lead to more energy-efficient homes across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire”.
In January, the chief executive of Great Places announced he would step down after 30 years at the association and 10 years in the top job.
Matthew Harrison, who took on the top job in 2013 after serving for 20 years as executive director of development, plans to remain in post until the end of June 2024.
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