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Midlands housing association completes £350m debut bond

Platform Housing Group has made its first solo venture into the debt capital markets with a 35-year £350m bond at a fixed coupon rate of 1.625%.

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Platform Housing Group has made its first own-name issuance (picture: Getty)
Platform Housing Group has made its first own-name issuance (picture: Getty)
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Midlands housing association completes £350m debut bond #UKhousing

@PlatformHousing achieved record-low interest rate on long-dated bond #UKhousing

“We achieved one of the best all in prices and margins in the sector and this was for our debut issuance which is a true reflection of Platform’s ambition and potential,” said Rosemary Farrar #UKhousing

The Midlands housing association said the bond received “outstanding support” from a range of institutional investors, with demand well in excess of £1bn from 60 lenders.

Its coupon of 1.625% is the lowest ever achieved in the long-dated sterling bond market for this credit rating category across all sectors and follows a trend of large social landlords achieving increasingly attractive rates since the start of the year.

Inside Housing previously reported that the 45,000-home landlord was mulling its bond market debut for around £200m in order to support its housebuilding targets.


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Elizabeth Froude, chief executive of Platform, said: “This has been a phenomenal piece of work delivered during a difficult time nationally and a great credit to all involved.

“I would like to thank the large number of investors, many of whom took the time to really understand our business, the regional strength and our strong commitment to social and affordable tenures.”

The housing association previously accessed capital markets though The Housing Finance Corporation’s funding aggregator Blend, but this latest transaction is its first own-name issuance.

Rosemary Farrar, chief finance officer at Platform, said: “We achieved one of the best all-in prices and margins in the sector and this was for our debut issuance which is a true reflection of Platform’s ambition and potential.

“We had a fantastic response from investors being oversubscribed by nearly four times what we needed and retained a further £50m which will be available at short notice for further investment as and when we need it.”

Since its formation in 2018, following a merger between Waterloo Housing and Fortis Living, the group has produced the most homes for social rent in England, according Inside Housing’s Biggest Builders Survey.

Barclays, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets and NatWest Markets were joint bookrunners on the transaction, while legal advice was provided by Devonshires and Centrus provided treasury advice.

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