Midlands housing association secures £310m
Futures Housing Group has secured funding worth £310m to help it build 1,200 homes as part of its latest development programme.
The East Midlands-based housing association, which manages nearly 10,000 homes, secured £110m through new bank facilities, with the remaining £200m coming from the public bond market.
The 25-year bond will be issued directly by Futures, which is A+ rated by Standard & Poor’s but has a negative outlook.
A total of 40 investors tabled around £900m following a roadshow carried out by Futures.
The bond was priced at 1.68% more expensive than the cost of equivalent government borrowing, and came in at an overall interest rate of 3.375%.
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Futures will use £170m on its development programme, which aims to deliver 1,200 homes over the next five years. Its remaining funds will be used to restructure the group’s existing debt.
This year, Futures will deliver the 1,000 new homes set out in its programme. Last year the association secured a deal to buy 470 homes from London-based G15 landlord Notting Hill Genesis.
Commenting on the new loan, Lindsey Williams, chief executive of Futures, said: “This is an investment in Futures and reflects everyone’s hard work across the organisation, which has created an agile, effective and efficient business. It has also positioned us for further growth and more partnerships.
“The level of investment also reflects our ambition and our vision to develop more new homes while making savings and improving performance.”
