THFC strikes £30m deal for Abri Group subsidiary
The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) has secured a £30m deal for a subsidiary of the Abri Group.
The affordable housing aggregator has raised £30m in the capital markets for the Swaythling Housing Society Limited.
THFC was able to arrange a deal that suited Abri’s requirements for a shorter maturity date of 12 years. NatWest served as bookrunner on the multimillion-pound deal, which achieved a rate of 5.74%.
The 50,000-home landlord has a target to build at least 10,000 new homes by 2030 by investing more than £2.6bn.
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The group said it had allocated 75% of its new build programme to social and affordable housing and had plans to maximise the number of homes delivered through modern methods of construction.
Vimal Gaglani, director of treasury and financial planning at Abri, said: “We believe that everyone deserves a safe, warm and sustainable place to call home, and we are very pleased to have secured £30m through Blend [a THFC subsidiary] at a rate and maturity that meets our needs.
“We are grateful to THFC for their support and partnership in securing this loan, which will allow us to continue our work in providing affordable housing for the communities we serve in the South of England.”
Earlier this week, S&P revealed that Octavia Housing will keep its BBB credit rating as the landlord continues merger discussions with Abri.
The rating agency said that Octavia’s partnership discussions and new leadership appointments would support the non-compliant landlord’s operations and governance.
On this latest deal, Priya Nair, chief executive of THFC, said: “This deal demonstrates Blend’s flexibility, making it a useful source of finance to borrowers.
“Abri has a proven track record of providing quality, affordable homes for people in the South of England. As such, we are proud to establish this relationship with Abri and look forward to witnessing the social impact they will generate over the coming years.”
To date, Blend has provided more than £1.5bn in finance and facilities to 33 borrowers across the UK.
Sharon Woodward, the THFC relationship manager who facilitated the deal, said: “It has been a pleasure working with the Abri team to arrange this deal, which will allow Abri financial flexibility as they press ahead with their development plans.
“Abri is an incredibly strong organisation in terms of financial metrics and executive management, and we are confident that they will continue to build upon this solid foundation as they build much-needed affordable housing in the South of England.”
Earlier this month, Abri agreed a deal to take on 81 affordable homes as part of a regeneration scheme in Bracknell town centre.
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