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Scottish landlords offered access to £80m loan pot as government-backed scheme relaunches
A Scottish government-backed loan scheme has reopened, allowing social landlords to access a pot of up to £80m to build new affordable homes.
The Charitable Bond programme, which was first launched in 2014, gives Scottish housing associations access to unsecured loans starting from £1m for a maximum term of 15 years.
The interest from the loans is then recycled as grant funding to help develop social rented homes in Scotland.
In the latest round, “up to” £80m will be made available in the current financial year, the Scottish government said.
An interest rate on the loans was not disclosed.
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The initiative was established after demand from social landlords for better access to finance.
There were pilots in 2014 and 2015. The first round ran from 2015 to 2017 and the second round ran between 2017 and March 2021.
Housing associations have secured £260m in loans through the scheme since 2014, according to the Scottish government. At the same time, around £50m has been generated in grants, the administration said.
Among those to have previously used the scheme are Scotland’s largest social landlord, Wheatley Group, which secured a £16m loan in 2019.
Scottish housing secretary Shona Robison said the programme is a “innovative way” for social landlords to build “as many homes as possible”.
The Scottish government has a target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.
The programme is administered by social enterprise finance firms Allia C&C.
According to Allia C&C’s website, it has secured 28 loans for 19 housing associations, generating £61.5m in grant.
Peter Freer, director for Scotland at Allia C&C, said: “We’re delighted to continue our successful eight-year partnership with the Scottish government with an even greater target for investment across the sector over the next four years.”
