Stonewater agrees £75m loan with RBS

Stonewater has agreed a £75m loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland to support housing delivery.

The 40,000-home social housing provider says the 10-year variable-rate loan will help it deliver its 2030 corporate plan and its ongoing development programme.The provider has a target in its corporate plan of increasing its development to 1,500 homes a year.

The loan includes a fixed-rate period for the first six years via a loan-linked ISDA agreement, which Stonewater said would minimise interest rate risk.

It also includes sustainability-linked performance targets, which offer reduced interest rates if Stonewater meets agreed performance indicators.

These include the percentage of existing homes that have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above, the percentage increase in its annual Sustainable Homes Index for Tomorrow (SHIFT) score, and the percentage of land and the percentage of Land and Build Homes that have a minimum Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) score of 86 or above.

Anne Costain, chief financial officer at Stonewater, said: “This additional funding will be integral to our work delivering our 2030 corporate plan and ensuring our work to build safe and warm homes for customers to enjoy for years to come. 

“Continuing our strong and enduring relationships with financial partners like The Royal Bank of Scotland is vital to the continuation of our dedicated work to providing affordable housing across the country. We’re grateful for the ongoing support and the guidance and legal expertise of everyone involved.”

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 Stonewater recently announced it was in talks about a proposal which would see Porthove Housing Association and the Rotary Club of Hove Housing Society join it as subsidiaries.

Both are small associations which provide homes predominantly for older people.

The proposals come off the back of Stonewater’s acquisition of Greenoak and Mount Green Housing Association over the past two years.