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North East housing association secures £90m funding deal
Believe Housing has inked a £90m funding package with NatWest to support the development of new homes across the North East.
The 18,000-home landlord has agreed the sustainability-linked financing to help deliver multi-occupancy homes as well as smaller units, with tenures made up of social rent and homes for affordable rent and ownership.
Funding will also be used to improve Believe’s existing stock, including retrofitting properties with the aim of increasing their energy efficiency, the housing association said.
To help fulfil the loan’s criteria, Believe is measured by the Best Companies Index, which scores firms based on their level of workplace engagement.
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Faye Gordon, executive director of finance and investment at Believe, said: “This is an important deal for believe housing, made possible by our proven track record as a sound business with strong sustainability commitments and a good relationship with the NatWest team.
“The increased funding, along with a three-year extension to our term, enables us to keep providing more of the homes our region needs.”
The deal forms part of NatWest’s plans to provide £5bn in funding to the social housing sector by the end of 2026, announced in March.
The bank said at the time that the lending should help housing associations to deliver a pipeline of new homes and improve living conditions in existing properties.
Another North East landlord, Karbon Homes, announced earlier this month that it had restructured an existing facility with NatWest to agree a new 10-year term on a £54m loan.
Alan Newlands, director of housing finance, real estate finance at NatWest, said: “Believe Housing is dedicated to delivering outstanding housing which has a positive impact across communities.
“The management team are forward-thinking in terms of the environment and net zero, and they are also committed to reaching key ESG targets which represent their business goals and values.”
Believe was founded in April 2019 from an amalgamation of County Durham Housing Group and its three subsidiaries.
Last year, it committed to an 80% reduction in operational carbon on new homes by 2025 as part of its net zero strategy.
Kate Abson, director of development at Believe, said the standards come with a “significant cost” to the business.
The development standards are something that “not everybody is doing because of where construction costs have gone”. But, Ms Abson added, “we think that is the right thing to do”.
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