Legal & General has provided £85 million in long-term financing to Believe Housing, one of the largest affordable homes providers in North East England.
”The private placement demonstrates Legal & General’s on-going commitment to a wider ESG and decarbonisation agenda, implementing a forward-thinking sustainability focused structure with pricing linked to the Company’s energy transition,” said the company in a statement.
Legal & General said the funding will support believe housing’s strategic development goal to deliver over 1,200 new affordable homes over the next five years.
The housing association’s 18,000 homes cover almost 900 square miles from the Durham coast to the Pennines.
With LGIM Real Assets commitment, believe housing will use the funding to refinance existing debt, deliver new homes, and for general corporate purposes including investments in existing homes. believe housing has also recently become the first organisation in the sector to achieve the Carbon Neutral International Standard, demonstrating its commitment to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency.
”This is an important transaction for LGIM Real Assets, believe housing, and the housing association sector more broadly. We’re delighted to place decarbonisation firmly at the centre of the investment, rather than something that’s talked about on the side-lines,” said Steve Bolton, Head of Private Corporate Debt, Europe.
”This funding will guarantee that our vision of a life without barriers can be brought to more people right across the region. It’s great news for us, and the affordable housing sector as a whole, that major private sector funders share our passion for doing the right thing for customers, for the business and in this case for the environment too,” said Alan Smith, Executive Director of Investment, Growth and Performance at believe housing.
