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Bond aggregator to bid to restart guarantees programme
The bond aggregator that ran previous government-guaranteed debt schemes is aiming to restart the programme with new funding, Inside Housing can reveal.
The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC), which ran the Affordable Housing Guarantees Scheme through its subsidiary, Affordable Housing Finance, hopes to use some of the £8bn of government guarantees announced in last year’s Budget to restart the scheme.
Piers Williamson, chief executive of THFC, told Inside Housing that following the Social Housing Green Paper, which confirmed that the government would provide guaranteed debt to social housing providers, the organisation would go back to government to ask for some of the funds.
From 2013 to 2017, THFC ran a guarantees scheme under which the government guaranteed debt to housing associations, leading to much lower borrowing costs. Some associations even managed to borrow more cheaply than the UK government.
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This scheme was scrapped in November 2015 by then-chancellor George Osborne, but in November’s Budget Philip Hammond announced unspecified “guarantees” for housebuilding totalling £8bn.
Homes England, the government’s housing delivery agency, is expected to handle the allocations of the £8bn.
In an interview with Inside Housing in March, Homes England’s chief executive Nick Walkley said there was “definitely” scope to use these funds for affordable housing, and reference to the guarantees was subsequently included in last month’s green paper.
Mr Williamson said: “The sort of ground that we covered in the Affordable Homes Guarantees Scheme is a subset of what I suspect may come forward. Governments typically give very open offers, to say, ‘Here is a limit, show us how you can produce more homes as a consequence of this initiative.’
“An agency like Homes England will act as a clearing house for those ideas. Some will work, some won’t work. Clearly what we’ve done is a proven concept. I think I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t part of the solution.”
THFC is also currently preparing to launch a £2bn bond aggregating vehicle as a subsidiary called Blend, which last week received a credit rating of A2 from Moody’s.
Blend will aim to provide bond finance to housing associations that don’t typically have the capacity to launch own-name bonds themselves.
Meanwhile, a rival aggregator, MORhomes, is expected to launch its initial £1bn bond soon. It told Inside Housing in July that it was “fully set up” for that issue, having successfully registered as a listed company.
Housing association financial statements 2017/18
Click on the links below to read more reports about individual associations' financial statements:
A2 Dominion reports £92.5m surplus
Aster sees 12% jump in surplus despite margin drop
BPHA sees surplus jump after shared ownership sales boost
Clarion's surplus falls for second year running
Housing & Care 21 records increased surplus
Metropolitan sees surplus fall due to post-Grenfell costs
Midland Heart records £47.8m surplus
Network Homes surplus dips for the second consecutive year
Notting Hill and Genesis post reduced combined surplus
Optivo sees turnover fall in first results since merger
Orbit surplus boosted by jump in value of private rented units
Paradigm surplus drops after £5.6m loan breakage cost
Places for People boosts surplus to £130m
Southern sees dip in surplus due to pensions and safety costs
Sovereign boosts surplus thanks to open market sales
Stonewater increases surplus by 38%
Swan surplus slides after £3.2m cladding provision
Vivid posts increased surplus post-Merger
Regulatory judgements published on 29 August
| Provider | Governance | Viability | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bromford Housing Group | G1 | V1 | No change |
| Wandle Housing Association | G2 | V2 | Governance downgrade |
| Wirral Partnership Homes | G2 | V1 | Governance downgrade |
Social Housing Green Paper: full coverage
All our Social Housing Green Paper coverage in one place:
Green paper measures are not enough to create May’s ‘new generation’ of council homes Green paper proposals are welcome but much more is needed to support councils to build, writes John Bibby
Green paper shows ministers now see associations as trusted partners Focusing on the failure of the green paper to address supply misses the point, writes Boris Worrall
Government should focus on building on what is already strong Philippa Jones considers the Social Housing Green Paper through a slightly different lens
We need more than a week of delayed announcements bundled together Jules Birch reflects on the government’s ‘Housing Week’ announcements
The regulator should monitor how associations assist homeless people Government announcements this week are positive, but any enhanced role for the English regulator should include looking at homelessness prevention work, argues David Bogle
The regulator’s role should be limited to dealing with systemic failures Julian Ashby suggests the Housing Ombudsman Service should deal with all complaints
The green paper shows ministers are in listening mode Despite some glaring omissions, the government appears to be in listening mode and it is important the sector takes advantage, argues Emma Maier
A short history of social housing league tables Attempts to create league tables for housing associations are nothing new. Mervyn Jones looks at how they have worked in the past
League tables could prove blunt and counter-productive, sector warns Housing figures criticise government proposals to measure social landlords against performance indicators
Government ‘must decide how proactive regulator should be’ on consumer standards Ministers now face a dilemma over the regulator’s focus, sector figures say
The Green Paper: a golden opportunity missed? Melanie Rees assesses the Social Housing Green Paper against recommendations drawn up by the Chartered Institute of Housing and finds the government comes up short
Longer strategic partnerships and guranteed debt to boost social housebuilding The Social Housing Green Paper outlines key ways of boosting supply
The green paper is remarkable progress but it is still not enough The green paper suggests the government appears to be re-writing much of its policy since 2010, but more needs to be done, writes Jules Birch
Green paper marks a ‘milestone’ on resident involvement The government’s recognition residents need clear information is to be welcomed, now it up to the sector to embrace tenant involvement, writes Paul Hackett
Ministers consider stock transfer programme to community-led associations The stock transfer programme could be revived under proposals in the housing green paper
Access to housing grant could be tied to new league tables Grant could be awarded according to how well landlords meet performance indicators, the paper suggests
Ofsted-style regulation of tenant services proposed The government is considering expanding the Regulator for Social Housing’s remit to intervene over tenant services and give it a more “proactive approach to enforcement”
Government proposes dropping one-for-one Right to Buy replacement commitment A consultation paper published alongside the green paper proposes a broader measurement to replace the one-for-one pledge
A list of recent housing policy U-turns The green paper confirms yet more housing policy U-turns from the government, which has spent the past two years dropping policy ideas developed under the David Cameron government. Here is a rundown of the major changes in policy direction
Sector welcomes green paper but calls for more ‘ambitious investment’ Reaction to the proposals, from the National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing and more
Morning Briefing: reaction to green paper announcements how the media reported the proposals trailed by the government overnight
Government drops plans to force councils to sell higher-value stock The government drops plans to force councils to sell higher value homes
League tables and ‘sharper teeth’ for regulator in social housing green paper Ministers reveal some of the things in the paper ahead of its publication
Grenfell survivors: green paper does not go far enough survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have said the measures published in the Social Housing Green Paper do not do enough to rectify issues in the social housing sector
