Gloucester City Homes is getting a £130 million funding boost, thanks to a new deal with NatWest.
The deal, facilitated by Savills Financial Consultants, includes £30 million of new funding, which will help the 5,000-home housing association deliver energy efficiency improvements to get all of its properties to EPC C rating by 2030, as well as building up to 400 new homes.
It has earmarked £19 million for the energy improvements and £60 million for building the new properties, 150 of which will come from regenerating existing estates.
Executive director of business resources at Gloucester City Homes, Anne Southern, said: 'In a time when the sector is facing so many challenges in tackling the housing crisis, GCH is delighted to have completed a new funding arrangement with our existing funders at NatWest and we look forward to building on our already strong relationship with them.
'The new arrangement will enable us to continue to invest in communities across Gloucester, improve the energy efficiency of many of our homes, deliver regeneration in our communities and build much-needed new homes. The team at NatWest, along with those at Savills Financial Consultants and Anthony Collins Solicitors, have worked with us to create a deal that allows us to build on our success and also create certainty on cost for a significant amount of our funding.'
The £30 million of new funding is a five-year revolving credit facility, while the £100 million in existing loans has been extended to a maturity of 10 years with a renegotiated covenant suite and an interest rate swap aligned with the new funding.
This is the first time NatWest has used this kind of new covenant suite to provide certainty for both the bank and Gloucester City Homes, as it continues to deliver its business plan.
NatWest's director of housing finance, Dean Holleyman, added: 'We are delighted to be able to provide Gloucester City Homes with this new funding to enable more people to have an affordable, energy-efficient and safe place to call home.
'We have supported Gloucester City Homes since its inception and, during that time, we have seen the great work it does in the communities that it serves. We are proud to help GCH continue this great work with further investment in its new and existing homes in Gloucester.'
