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Aggregator raises £30m for newly merged housing association
Social housing bond aggregator MORhomes has completed a £30m loan deal for newly formed Eastlight Community Homes, which brings its total loan book to more than £400m.
The 12,000-home landlord, formed in July following a merger between Colne Housing and Greenfields Community Housing, has become the 17th housing association to use MORhomes to raise finance. The majority of the £30m raised was via a tap to its existing 3.4% bond, which has now issued £391m in total.
The aggregator’s total loan book now stands at £408m since launching its first bond in early 2019 and includes borrowers such as A2Dominion, Aster Group and Melin Homes.
MORhomes, which is owned by more than 60 housing associations, said the transaction reinforced the popularity of its structure which allows rapid market access for borrowers.
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Patrick Symington, chief executive of MORhomes, said: “With macro-economic risks increasing and uncertainty regarding housing association ratings following the UK sovereign downgrade by Moody’s, we are delighted to have executed this transaction and achieved an excellent price for our shareholder/ borrower.
“Our flexible and efficient processes enable our borrowers to move quickly and pick a time that is right for them and right for the market.”
David Hall, executive director of resources at Eastlight, said: “The terms of the funding model offered by MORhomes suited Eastlight very well and we are very pleased to have been able to access the market so quickly. This will enable us to deliver our significant investment commitments and continue to build more affordable new homes in Essex and beyond.”
MORhomes has also told Inside Housing that it plans to produce the sector’s first bond with sustainability accreditation in the coming months.
The aggregator is also one of a number of organisations to become an early adopter of a new standardised approach to environmental, social and governance reporting within UK social housing.
