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Homes England agrees partnership with lending platform to create £25m SME fund
Homes England has signed a seven-year partnership with a development finance lending platform in a bid to increase the level of finance available to small and medium-sized builders.
A £25m revolving fund will be made available through the collaboration between Invest & Fund and the government’s housing delivery agency.
Small builders will be able to apply for construction loans of between £400,000 and £2.5m for schemes of two homes and upwards, at up to 80% loan to cost.
Applications are being accepted from today and prospective borrowers are being asked to contact Invest & Fund directly via their website.
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Gordon More, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “We are delighted to announce this partnership today which underlines our commitment to supporting the growth of small builders to allow them to continue to diversify the market and become the large builders of tomorrow.”
“In Invest & Fund, we have found a partner with a shared purpose to support the market and the desire and capability to scale their lending activity.
“The deal demonstrates our ability to ‘make homes happen’ in different ways in support of our mission. We are particularly pleased to be working with a specialist finance provider, recognising the crucial role that the non-bank lending market continues to play in supporting smaller builders in these challenging times.”
David Turner, chief executive of Invest & Fund, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Homes England to help fund the development of the new homes the country needs.
“Our approach of employing a best-in-class credit underwriting model, backed by a strong focus on operational excellence and our culture of good governance has been recognised in this partnership and we are focused on lending to creditworthy borrowers via this venture.”
Housing minister Christopher Pincher said: “Building the homes the country needs is key to our economic recovery and is a top priority for this government. We are determined to support as many as possible within the housebuilding industry, in particular, smaller builders – to get Britain building.
“I welcome the announcement of the partnership between Homes England and Invest & Fund, which will not only support our commitment to build more homes but also give smaller developers easier access to finance, helping them to flourish.”
