Housing association handed £137m bank funding towards building 1,000+ homes

Birkenhead housing association, Magenta Living, has secured a £137m funding package from NatWest.

The funds will be used to build more than 1,000 new affordable homes over the next five years and support its transition to being a carbon zero housing provider.

Magenta currently owns almost 13,000 homes across the North West and the finance will also go towards carrying out maintenance on its existing portfolio.

With more than 600 staff, Magenta is the largest housing association landlord in Wirral.

Its commitment to climate change includes using electric vehicles, improving local green spaces, tackling fuel poverty, and improving the energy performance of its housing stock.

NatWest has attributed environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals to £75m of the company’s loan facilities, helping the housing association to work towards the Government’s Zero Carbon Homes target by 2050.

Magenta’s executive director of finance, Ann Monk, said: “We aim to enhance local communities and help people access a better quality of life through the provision of improved homes for affordable renting. Ultimately, we serve local communities in the North West region by building properties that create genuine social value, and this funding package from NatWest is helping us bring this vision to life.

“The bank’s backing is assisting us as we move towards our target of becoming a carbon zero organisation by 2050 with the creation of truly sustainable properties. This will allow us to continue growing and seizing new opportunities, as well as creating new jobs and encouraging investment into the areas we serve.”

Marcos Navarro, director and sustainability lead for housing finance at NatWest, said: “We are committed to supporting housing associations nationwide and have provided a bespoke funding package that will help Magenta Living deliver affordable and sustainable properties to individuals and families across Wirral and the wider North West.

“We will continue to support the company as it expands its portfolio and delivers its climate change initiative.”

The funding package forms part of NatWest’s commitment to support the housing association sector with £3bn by the end of 2022, to help increase the provision of social housing and enable the improvement of existing properties.