Gresham House agrees £30m debt facility to grow build-to-rent housing pipeline

Gresham House agrees £30m debt facility to grow build-to-rent housing pipeline, arranged by TradeRisks

Gresham House has agreed a long-term debt facility worth up to £30m to support further investment in affordable mid-market build-to-rent housing through its British Strategic Investment Fund strategy (BSIF).

Gresham House worked with life insurer Scottish Widows to agree the refinancing of five build-to-rent properties in the BSIF portfolio, at various stages of completion – with two currently fully operational.

The debt facility is worth an initial £20m, rising to £30m as the remaining properties are completed.

The financing structure was arranged in-house by the TradeRisks team, which was acquired by Gresham House in March 2020 and specialises in debt structuring and advisory services to the housing and social infrastructure sectors.

Developed in partnership with Rise Homes, the five mid-market residential buildings are located in regional city centres, including Manchester, Stockport, Coventry and Wolverhampton.

Built to a high standard, the apartments offer residents good ‘value-for-money’ and are let out at competitively priced rents versus comparable purpose-built private rental offerings.

In line with Gresham House’s integrated approach to ESG, the buildings have been developed with sustainability in mind – making use of extensively refurbished formerly vacant properties and integrating renewable energy solutions and sustainable materials in their construction, as well as including charging points for electric vehicle use.

The financing arrangement comes as Gresham House continues to develop its offering across the housing space, with a particular focus on the build-to-rent market.

Joe Thomas, Investment Director at Gresham House, said:

“Securing a long-term agreement with such a reputable lender is a testament to TradeRisks’ outstanding track record of arranging long-dated finance for housing-based investments. Our ability to arrange deals of this type in-house will allow us to quickly bring to market more affordable high-quality homes.

“Working alongside our development partners, we have been focused on the mid-market build-to-rent space for a number of years and will continue to deliver on our pipeline in this strategically important space – where there is also a sizeable opportunity for steady returns.”

Andy Langstaff, Associate Director of Loan Investments at Scottish Widows, said:

“We are pleased to have worked with the Gresham House and Rise Homes team in structuring this long-term funding solution to support BSIF’s strategic objectives and the provision of high-quality yet affordable homes. This represents another positive social impact investment for Scottish Widows and further highlights our commitment to the UK housing sector.”

Antoine Pesenti, Head of Capital Markets, TradeRisks commented:

“With this transaction we have been able to secure funding at an attractive rate and tailored to meet the needs of the fund and the assets. Gresham House’s UK housing portfolio represents a highly attractive low-risk proposition for lenders.”

Notes

About BSIF
The £340m British Strategic Investment Fund strategy (BSIF) was established to invest specifically in the Sustainable Infrastructure and housing sectors, both identified by the UK Government as structurally important areas requiring local investment. As a closed-ended fund with a 12-year time horizon, BSIF invests with a long-term view into these important sectors and actively seeks to address environmental and societal challenges. UK investors only. 

About TradeRisks
TradeRisks is a London-based advisory firm focused in arranging equity and debt financing for infrastructure and energy projects across Europe and the US. TradeRisks was acquired by Gresham House in March 2020. TradeRisks has arranged over £14.9bn of funding in loans, private placements, and bonds, and ranks as one of the leading independent arrangers for Project Bonds in Europe according to Inframation.  www.traderisks.com