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Housing association secures £39m loan to build 1,000 energy-efficient homes
Cartrefi Conwy has received a funding package of £39m to deliver 1,000 energy-efficient homes in North Wales, with the majority of the cash benefitting from interest rates linked to sustainability targets.
Cartefi Conwy is the first Welsh housing association to utilise Lloyds Bank’s sustainability-linked funding which includes an interest rate reduction scheme for the provision of affordable zero-carbon homes and tackling homelessness.
Roughly £22m of the funding package is linked to sustainability goals, while the remaining funds are part of a note purchase agreement from another lender who cannot be named.
A spokesperson for Cartrefi Conwy told Inside Housing that interest rates linked to the deal could not be shared.
The deal comes after the association’s subsidiary, Creating Enterprise, signed a five-year contract with sustainable construction firm Beattie Passive giving them exclusive rights to their pioneering Passivhaus build system in North Wales.
As well as maintain the association’s 4,000 properties, Creating Enterprise helps local people, including tenants, to find employment, training and volunteering opportunities.
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Andrew Bowden, chief executive of Cartrefi Conwy, said: “This is private money coming in which is supplemented by Welsh government money and, if the social housing grant levels are maintained at current levels, it means that £39m effectively becomes nearly £100m of additional money available.
“This is the fantastic thing about having housing associations in that we can really make Welsh government public sector funding go as far as it can in building new affordable social homes in North Wales.
“When you factor in the economic multipliers, it all adds up to a massive £186m boost for North Wales economy and will create 4,500 jobs over the 10-year period.”
Christopher Yau, origination and sustainability director at Lloyds Bank, said: “This deal will enable Cartrefi Conwy to play a part in the wider economic recovery, creating jobs, building sustainable homes and helping improve the lives of its residents in North Wales.
“By structuring this funding package in line with the latest standards for sustainability in social housing, it will also help the region’s homes to become greener and cheaper to live in.”
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