Great Places begins roadshow for £200m bond issue

SOCIAL housing provider Great Places Housing Group is moving closer towards a £200m fund-raising in the bond market.

Bosses led by chief executive Stephen Porter and director of finance Phil Elvy are beginning institutional roadshows in the City of London this week.

Credit rating agency Fitch has assigned the Manchester-based organisation, which owns or manages more than 16,000 homes in the North West and Yorkshire and across over 30 local authorities, a AA-status.

Great Places intends to use the proceeds to cover all its funding requirements under the group’s current business plan, including its debt refinancing needs.  

It has a £160m new build programme with the Home and Communities Agency, which will see 1,300 new homes built between now and March 2015.

The AA-rating of the secured bonds reflects the group’s stable structure.
The bonds will be fixed rate notes and secured by first fixed charges on housing properties owned by Great Places, which have been valued by Savills.

The not-for-profit organisation had made a surplus of £7.3m (2011, £3m) on a turnover of £72.6m this year.