Housing association secures finance from M&G

The Christian Action Housing Association, based in Enfield, has borrowed £50 million from M&G Investments in a long term financing deal. The housing association said that the 30-year private placement would enable it to repay debt and meet its long-term development ambitions, adding to the 1,500 homes it already owns and manages throughout Enfield, Barnet, Haringay and Waltham Forest. Until 2007, housing associations relied on banks and the Housing Finance Corporation for their external funding requirements, but in recent years, nonbank lenders such as M&G have provided long-term finance as banks retreat from this market.

David Joyce, finance director at Christian Action Housing Association, said: “The goals for this refinancing exercise were to increase our development capacity, improve our ability to deal with market fluctuations, reduce interest rate risk in the longer term and to help Christian Action achieve its core
strategic goals.” M&G head of social housing, Mark Davie, commented: “We have now invested over £5 billion in UK social housing through property transactions, public bonds and private placements and we’re keen to do more. Our pension fund clients continue to seek cash flows over the long term which are secured against residential property.”