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Scottish landlord secures £25m loan from RBS for energy-efficient housing
Maryhill Housing has received a £25m loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to make its existing housing more energy efficient and build 16 homes for social rent.
The landlord will use the funding to replace storage heaters in 600 homes with heaters that use high heat retention technology.
It said this would reduce running costs and enable tenants to “be less susceptible to fluctuating energy bills”.
At the same time, the 16 new homes will be built on Smeaton Street in the Ruchill area of Glasgow, which will have a focus on family housing as well as energy efficiency. These are scheduled for delivery by summer 2024.
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Bryony Willett, chief executive of Maryhill Housing, said: “Funding from RBS is invaluable in allowing us to refurbish more homes quicker and create new builds that are not only fit for service but fit for building a life in.”
Alan Newlands, relationship manager at RBS, said: “Both retrofitting and new construction are crucial in tackling the pertinent issues in the housing sector within Scotland, and we are keen to help registered social landlords tackles such issues.”
He added: “Together with Maryhill, we have built a strong relationship dating back to 2003 and over that time we have seen the investment and care they put into projects to help its customers.”
In March, NatWest Group, the parent company of RBS, confirmed a £5bn lending package aimed at not-for-profit registered UK housing associations by the end of 2026.
Maryhill Housing said the financing from RBS would help Glasgow deliver its green pledges of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2045.
Last week, the Scottish government backtracked on its country-wide interim climate change target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.
However, Scotland’s long-term target to reach net zero by 2045 “steadfastly” remains, ministers said.
This decision partly lead to the Scottish National Party ending its coalition with the Green Party and the resignation of first minister Humza Yousaf.
Despite the political turmoil, the Scottish government told Inside Housing that the extra £80m planned over two years to buy empty homes for social housing announced shortly before Mr Yousaf’s departure will survive under any new leadership.
