Law firm advises on housing deals worth £44m
BIRMINGHAM law firm Browne Jacobson has marked the conclusion of a successful year advising the Homes and Communities Agency on housing projects worth more than £44m.
The funding was secured across eight developments, including the construction of 480 new homes across nine sites in the North East as part of a £21.7m housing development project led by Sunderland-based housing association Gentoo Group, as well as projects in Ilford, Isle of Wight, Consett, Wigan and Richmond in Yorkshire.
The firm’s banking and finance team, headed by Paul Ray, led on the deals.
Mr Ray said: “We are delighted to be part of the Government’s plans to rejuvenate the housing sector across the UK. As well as helping to address housing shortages, the developments funded by the HCA to date are bringing much needed investment to the regions and creating and sustaining thousands of jobs in the construction sector and allied trades.”
In October, the government launched the £3bn Home Building Fund, which combines funding from several existing programmes.
The fund is aimed at further accelerating the number of homes built in England over the course of the existing Parliament and beyond. It is being administered by the Homes and Communities Agency’s Investments division and is the largest recoverable investment fund launched by the agency to date. Loan levels range from £250,000 up to £250m, with five-year terms available for development finance and up to 20 years for infrastructure loans.
Gordon More, chief investment officer at the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “The Home Building Fund offers development finance to small builders, new entrants and innovators, to accelerate housebuilding and deliver more homes for sale and rent.
“We provide funding where commercial lending is constrained or where our loans can unlock land for housing. Our advisors in both the legal and surveying professions are key to meeting our objectives and supporting the housebuilding sector. Strong relationships with organisations that understand our mission and those of the developers we finance are vital to our success.”
