Affordable housing provider secures £50m loan facility to fund new projects
SOCIAL and affordable housing provider Stonewater has agreed a new £50m bank loan facility to support its housing development programme.
Stonewater, which has a large West Midlands division with offices in Leamington Spa, Leominster and Brierley Hill, plans to deliver a mix of 5,000 affordable new homes for shared ownership and rent across England by 2027.
The company, which also has offices in Leicester and West Yorkshire, has been backed by a five-year revolving credit facility from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
John Bruton, Stonewater’s group finance director, said: “As an organisation that is currently primarily funded through the capital markets, revolving facilities are important in managing liquidity and reducing overall funding costs.
“We are very pleased with this transaction with Lloyds as the pricing is competitive and the terms are tailored to the circumstances of our corporate structure.”
With an A1 Moody’s Investors Credit Rating, the £160m turnover housing organisation is one of the UK’s major social housing providers, with 30,000 homes under management and £1.6bn in assets.
Jo-Ann Bonham, relationship director in Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s social housing team, added: “Having worked with Jephson and Raglan up until their merger and with the combined Stonewater group since, we’re pleased to be able to strengthen our support for the group with this revolving credit facility.
“Stonewater provides much-needed affordable homes across England and the new credit facility will help with its plans to build thousands of new properties over the next decade.”
