The Equity Housing Group has recently formed a refinancing agreement worth £55 million, with plans to develop over 800 homes throughout the upcoming five years in a bid to help with affordable housing.
Owning 4,800 homes across the North West, South Yorkshire and Staffordshire, this Stockport-based homes association has prolonged the lifetime of its current loan of £20 million, taking on a further £35 million of debt.
The Equity Housing Group was officially downgraded by the Regulator of Social Housing of the UK, due to their concerns with governance. However, the deputy group chief executive of Equity, Andy Oldale, has said: “As a housing association with dispersed stock and a strong development performance, we believe we can best serve communities by building local, new affordable homes. This deal absolutely helps us deliver on these aims on behalf of our communities.”
David Horne, the director of housing finance and real estate finance at NatWest, stated that: “The new homes will make a significant contribution to meeting both national and regional housebuilding targets.”
In the process of sealing the deal, Equity worked alongside Savills Financial Consultants to agree the deal. Director of the company Mike Roche said: “In a challenging environment, it is encouraging to see that lenders continue to support the social housing sector.”
Recent surveys by UK firm Reuters show that the British housing market is showing ‘tentative’ signs of recovery, as buyer’s interest increased significantly for the first time since the post-Brexit spike in 2016.
Prices in London, however, are continuing to decrease as the house price growth rate is grinding to a long awaited halt.
Britain’s housing market slowed sharply after voters decided to leave the European Union more than three years ago, but several indicators have suggested a stabilisation in recent months.
“The latest data provides further evidence of the sales market settling down,” Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said in a statement.
“But I don’t get the impression from the insight provided by contributors that this is fuelling hope of a significantly more active market going forward. Many of the factors that have provided a challenge during the first half of the year remain unresolved.”
The collective strive to affordable housing is sweeping the UK by storm as partnerships join to develop hundreds of homes across every region in attempt to demolish the wealth gap.