SNG secures £150m green loan from Swedish bank

The second KPI is pre-agreed targets on the number of homes retrofitted each year to an Energy Performance Certificate rating of B or higher – from C or lower). The interest rate was not disclosed.

James Lennard, deputy head of large corporates UK at Handelsbanken, said: “Housing associations have long been core customers of Handelsbanken, which is why we are very pleased to support SNG to both increase levels of housing stock and retrofit their existing stock.

“We recognise SNG’s commitment to high standards of development and reducing their carbon footprint.”

This deals follows on from the £100m revolving credit facility the landlord secured with the UK division of Allied Irish Banks towards the end of last year.

Scott Galpin, head of strategic treasury at SNG, said: “Ensuring the delivery of the new homes to address the housing crisis is a huge challenge but new flexible funding facilities like this loan will help us achieve our ambitions.

“By entering into this sustainability-linked loan, Handelsbanken is supporting our ambitions to develop 25,000 homes over 10 years, as well as our journey to reaching net zero by 2050.”

This month, Guy Slocombe joined SNG as chief investment and development officer.

SNG, which manages 84,000 homes and was formed in 2023 through a merger of Sovereign and Network Homes, recorded a post-tax surplus of £62.9m in the year to the end of March 2024.

This was a 12% drop from the £71.3m the previous year. However, Mark Washer, chief executive of SNG, said that the group remained fixed on its “ambitious plans” to build 25,000 homes over the next 10 years.