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Sector borrowing up by a third, regulator reports
Borrowing by housing associations went up by a third in the last financial year, the Regulator of Social Housing has found.
In its final quarterly survey for 2017/18, it reported that housing associations agreed £10.1bn of new facilities in the year to March, up from £7.6bn in the previous year.
The regulator concluded that the sector remains financially strong, with £17.2bn of undrawn debt still available. In total, the sector has agreed borrowing worth £89.1bn, £57.8bn of which are bank loans.
Of providers surveyed by the regulator, 95% forecast that their current debt facilities are sufficient for more than 12 months, suggesting the recent spate of refinancing is drawing to a close.
If further borrowing were to prove necessary, housing associations estimate that there is enough security across the sector to support £48bn of new borrowing.
There are, however, other issues to consider with regard to borrowing capacity, such as balance sheet capacity and the ability to service debt.
Meanwhile, housing associations invested £10bn in new housing supply over the 12 months to March, a figure that is expected to rise to £14.3bn in the following 12 months. Of this figure, £9.5bn is already contractually committed.
The actual development spend on development of £2.6bn dropped well below the forecasted level of £3.9bn in the last quarter, with the Regulator following the National House Building Council in blaming the slippage on snow at the beginning of the year.
