Housing group on course to deliver 11,000 homes after £100m funding deal
Manchester-based housing provider, Great Places Housing Group, has secured a £100m funding deal to support its aim to deliver 11,000 affordable homes by 2030.
The revolving credit facility (RCF) with NatWest comprises £85m refinancing of existing debt, and a new £15m debt deal. It consolidates existing loan funding held by Great Places and Equity Housing Association that pre-dated their merger in April, 2020.
Great Places Housing Group has 25,000 homes in more than 30 local authority areas. It invested £90m into building homes, with 557 homes completed and more than 1,500 more on site at the end of 2021/22.
It aims to achieve an Energy Efficiency Performance (EPC) rating of C for all its homes by 2028, lowering running costs and helping address the cost of living crisis. The £100m RCF has been designed to allow for the introduction of sustainability-linked key performance indicators in the near future.
Savills Financial Consultants helped Great Places strike its funding deal and Phil Elvy, executive director of finance at Great Places, said: “Thanks to the brilliant collaboration and hard work of the teams at Great Places, NatWest, Devonshires and Savills Financial Consultants, we’ve successfully refinanced a number of legacy facilities into a new, larger and longer term revolving credit facility with more competitive margins and improved covenants.
“This forms an important piece of our funding jigsaw as we continue to invest in the safety and energy efficiency of our existing homes, as well as deliver a very significant number of much needed, new, affordable homes across the North West and South Yorkshire.”
Mike Roche, director at Savills Financial Consultants, said: “This is an exciting deal to have helped put together. It ensures Great Places continues to deliver on the pledges it made when it merged with Equity in 2020.
39 apartments being built by Great Places as part Ancoats Dispensary regeneration
“It also provides a clearer funding structure and maximises balance sheet capacity to help Great Places to realise its 2030 ambitions to invest in homes and services for its customers.”
Marcos Navarro, director of housing finance and sustainability lead at NatWest, said: “Great Places Housing Group has an ambitious plan which will see quality, affordable, sustainable housing built in communities that need it.”
Funder on the deal was NatWest, financial advisor, Savills Financial Consultants, client legal advisor, Devonshires, funder legal, Addleshaw Goddard, and valuer, Savills UK.
