UK insurance company Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) has completed an £80 million debt investment in North Star Housing Group (North Star), a housing association based in the North East of England.
PIC said the funds will help North Star complete a refinancing and restructuring exercise, as well as deliver 600 new social and affordable homes over the next eight years.
North Star provides affordable housing, invests in its communities and develops new homes across the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and County Durham. It currently owns and manages just under 4,000 homes in an area where demand for housing far exceeds supply.
”The completion of the treasury and group restructure is an important milestone for North Star Housing Group. We have a clear strategy to both invest in our existing assets and develop new homes. Delivering on our treasury strategy in these highly uncertain times has been a real achievement for North Star Housing Group and we look forward to delivering our ambitious plans for the future. We would like to thank our advisers Centrus and Trowers & Hamlins for their expertise, advice and support on this project. In addition, I want to thank our lenders for their help in structuring this transaction which will allow to us deliver our ambitious plans to develop hundreds of new homes to meet demand for social properties,” said James Walder, Executive Director of Finance & Business Support at North Star Housing Group.
“PIC’s funding in North Star, allowing it to develop hundreds of new homes, and in the housing association sector more generally, plays an important part in backing the pensions of our policyholders as we look for secure and reliable income streams over the long-term. The pension risk transfer market is expected to play an increasingly important role funding social housing over the coming decade as we take on more pension liabilities,” said Eugenia Korobova, Debt Origination Manager at PIC.
 has completed an £80 million debt investment in North Star Housing Group, a housing association based in England.){kind=link}