Housing association Sovereign secures £150m in EIB funding
Housing association Sovereign has signed a £150m funding deal with the European Investment Bank to build 4,500 homes over the next three years.
Sovereign is the sixth largest housing association in England, with over 56,000 homes. It will draw down the funding to support a 1,500 homes a year development programme.
The EIB, owned by the European Union, has provided more than £4bn of investment in social housing and urban renewal across the UK in the last decade − more than any other European country. It loaned £5.5bn to a total of 36 projects in the UK last year – the second largest annual engagement since funding began in 1973.
Housing association Sovereign has signed a £150m funding deal with the European Investment Bank to build 4,500 homes over the next three years.
Sovereign is the sixth largest housing association in England, with over 56,000 homes. It will draw down the funding to support a 1,500 homes a year development programme.
The EIB, owned by the European Union, has provided more than £4bn of investment in social housing and urban renewal across the UK in the last decade − more than any other European country. It loaned £5.5bn to a total of 36 projects in the UK last year – the second largest annual engagement since funding began in 1973.
Mark Hattersley, chief financial officer at Sovereign, said: “This funding from the EIB, loaned at sector leading rates, will also help us improve the energy efficiency of our existing homes, in addition to providing those affordable places to live.”
Duncan Salter, director at consultancy firm JCRA, said: “As the first bilateral deal with an English housing association to be completed since 2014, this facility will save Sovereign millions in financing costs, paving the way for more social housing development where it is needed most.”
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