Regenda in £55m fundraising

BOLTON housing association Regenda has raised £55m through a bond issue with M&G Investments.

Under the terms of the deal Regenda, which has a portfolio of 13,000 homes, has issued bonds paying an average rate of 4.9% over the next 30 to 40 years.

Earlier in the year the housing association agreed a £10m facility with Yorkshire Building Society.

Last year, Regenda unveiled a corporate plan which set out plans to provide 1,000 additional homes. In May it spent £7m acquiring 170 homes in Cheshire from Guinness Northern Counties earlier this year.

To fund such expansion smaller housing associations without credit ratings are starting to turn to capital market funding, due to improved investor appetite and fears over new banking rules.

Interim chief executive David Jepson said: “This deal places the group on exactly the right path to continue with our growth and development ambitions; ensuring we have sufficient funding in place to deliver our aims in the period of our group corporate plan and beyond.”

Finance director Catherine Lynagh said: “We are delighted to have secured this deal. We attracted a good level of interest and the very competitive level of pricing we achieved is testament to the strong financial position of the group.”

The Regenda Group was formed in 2002 as a partnership between Liverpool-based Maritime Housing and Templar Housing in Macclesfield. Oldham-based West Pennine Housing Association (WPHA) joined the group in 2003 and Wyre Housing Association followed two years later. The Royal Bank of Scotland acted as the agent on the transaction.

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