Homes England loans house builder £40m for retirement village

News23.08.2111.30 AM by Tim Clark

Homes England has announced a £40m loan to a private house builder to help accelerate the construction of 255 mid-market retirement homes in Watford.

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Homes England has agreed to loan Audley Group £40m from the £4.5bn Home Building Fund for the construction of 255 homes in its first retirement village.

The Mayfield retirement village will also include a restaurant, swimming pool and fitness facilities and is situated near Watford General Hospital. It forms part of Watford’s larger Riverwell regeneration project.

The Home Building Fund was launched in 2016 and offers loans between £250,000 and £250m to cover infrastructure and development costs for private house builders. During the Spending Review last year, chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak revealed that the government would be adding £2.2bn to the fund to deliver more homes.

Peter Denton, chief executive of Homes England, said: “First and foremost, this will enable hundreds of later-life customers to enjoy high-quality, independent living accommodation for years to come. The area will benefit from enhanced care provision and family homes will be freed up for the next generation.

“Our loan directly addresses market funding challenges due to the pandemic and highlights our commitment to ensuring diverse communities.”

Nick Sanderson, chief executive of Audley Group, said: “The transaction with Homes England is an important milestone for the retirement-living sector; a coming-of-age. Government backing underlines the importance placed on increasing provision in the retirement-living sector and developing more innovative housing solutions.”

Homes England appointed Denton as its new chief executive in June. He previously served as Hyde Housing’s chief executive and replaced Nick Walkley, who stepped down from his role earlier this year.

Mr Denton held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Barclays before joining Hyde as finance director in 2017.

The chair of Homes England, Peter Freeman, is undertaking a review of the body to ensure it is well placed to support the government’s housing aims.

The review is anticipated to report in the autumn.