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South East landlord completes £399m refinancing package
A housing association based in the South East of England has secured a £399m refinancing deal that will support investment in new and existing homes, as well as its journey to net zero.
The deal was secured by West Kent Housing Association with multiple lenders, and includes loans of £224m on improved terms and new funding of £175m.
The landlord said it received “a good level of interest from a range of investors”.
Those investors involved in the deal include Lloyds Bank, Scottish Widows, NatWest, The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) and Allied Irish Bank (GB).
As part of the exercise, West Kent has harmonised and simplified covenants to reflect increasing capital investment in homes as work towards achieving net zero starts.
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West Kent, which owns and manages more than 8,000 homes, aims to increase its stock to 10,000 by 2025.
Maria Organ, executive director of finance at West Kent, said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of our treasury arrangements for the first time in 10 years, to address the unprecedented challenges we are currently seeing in the financial markets and to support the increasing demands for investment in new and existing homes.”
Dharmesh Patel, associate director of housing finance at NatWest, said: “NatWest is dedicated to supporting our customers and communities, and it is fantastic to be able to support the organisation with a finance package that will help it to invest in energy-efficient homes in West Kent.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with the team at West Kent Housing Association and seeing the organisation thrive on the next stage of its journey.”
Gavin Richards, relationship manager at THFC, said; “I am delighted to continue and expand upon our long-standing relationship with West Kent, a customer of the THFC Group for over 10 years.
“This new loan agreement through Blend, our market-leading bond issuing company, will support West Kent in its ambition to deliver new, energy-efficient and affordable homes to countless families throughout Kent.”
The deals were supported by Savills Financial Consultants and Anthony Collins Solicitors.
Mike Roche, director at Savills Financial Consultants, said: “We are thrilled for West Kent to complete this extensive financial restructuring, allowing them to maximise the number of affordable homes they build and minimise energy costs in their existing homes.
“This multi-tenor funding structure has a bit of everything and is well matched to what West Kent needs over time.
“It is flexible while allowing West Kent the ability to go to the capital markets quickly when the time is right.
“This approach is an evolution in the market and is definitely something we expect other housing providers to explore in the current more challenging funding environment.
“We are grateful to the West Kent board and leadership team for their commitment to work with funders to agree the new consistent covenants that underpin this deal.”
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