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Three landlords share £250m in loans through Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme
Three housing associations have secured loans totalling £250m through the government’s Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS).
ESR Group’s ARA Venn, the investment manager for the £3bn government-backed scheme, announced that Coastline Housing, Stonewater and Torus as the latest recipients of the 30-year loans.
The funding will help support the development of more than 1,500 new affordable homes in communities across England, ARA Venn said.
The loans were funded from the issuance of £350m bonds under a new bond series by Saltaire Finance, the funding vehicle for the AHGS.
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In Cornwall, Nathan Mallows, director of finance, ICT and people & culture at Coastline Housing, said the funding would help the 5,000-home landlord deliver homes over the next two years.
He added: “Having UK government support for new build delivery is fantastic and, for us, being combined with a recent Continuous Market Engagement approval from Homes England is significant in enabling delivery during volatile market conditions.”
Stonewater, a large national association with 34,500 homes, will also receive funding.
Chief financial officer Anne Costain said: “This funding will contribute to Stonewater working towards our vision: that everyone should have the opportunity to have a place that they can call home.”
Peter Fieldsend, chief financial officer at 38,000-home landlord Torus, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in the AHGS and to achieve a good outcome which fits within our business plan parameters. This now gives us the funding for the development of much-needed new affordable homes across our communities.”
The AHGS opened for loan applications in 2021 and issues bonds where the money raised will be then lent to registered providers.
The bonds, which are backed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, offer loans of up to 30 years to registered providers to build affordable housing.
The aim of the fund is to provide lower-cost, fixed-rate debt to registered providers to boost affordable housing supply, including homes for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership.
Oriane Auzanneau, deputy portfolio manager for AHGS and director at ARA Venn, said: “We are delighted to be able to support our borrowers with these 30-year loans, which will help to facilitate the development of more than 1,500 much-needed new affordable homes in the communities they serve across England.”
The current scheme is open for applications until 26 April 2024.
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