Savills Financial Consultants has helped Great Places secure three new deals worth a total of £284m with Santander, NatWest, and ABN Amro.
Funding of £109m and £100m has been agreed with existing lenders Santander and NatWest Bank, respectively. New partner ABN AMRO has lent 25,000-home Great Places £75m. All loans are revolving credit facilities (RCFs).
All three RCFs contain sustainability-linked performance measures which see a reduced interest rate in the event that Great Places meets agreed energy efficiency targets on new and existing homes.
Great Places will use the funds to continue to deliver its commitments to customers to invest in existing and new homes in communities across the North West, Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Great Places’ current plans include further increasing resources to improve property conditions and customer services, as well as the ambition to develop around 9,000 new affordable homes during the period 2020-2030.
Mike Gerrard, Chief Financial Officer at Great Places Housing Group, said:
We are delighted to continue and develop our relationships with NatWest and Santander and welcome ABN AMRO as a new banking partner. We received strong interest from the banking sector for this transaction and it is pleasing to move forward with sustainability-linked funding. Thank you to the Great Places team and Savills for their insight and support.
Mike Roche, Director at Savills Financial Consultants, said:
There were a significant number of moving parts with these deals, so it is a testament to the Great Places team that they have been able to handle the process so diligently. The Savills Financial Consultants team has really enjoyed helping Great Places secure this increased financial capacity at the right pricing to help deliver their aims.
The transaction was also supported by Devonshires, Addleshaw Goddard and the valuation team at Savills.
