Steve Amos welcomes bank support for £180 investment in social housing

THE Clanmil Housing Group today revealed details of a finance deal that will inject up to £180m into social housing and the wider economy.

The deal, the largest-ever of its kind in Northern Ireland, secures loans of £75m from Danske Bank and £45m from Barclays. Some £100m of this finance will be invested in building new social homes and the remainder used to refinance existing loan facilities.

The funding will also enable Clanmil to access up to £80m in statutory funding from the Department for Social Development and kick-start construction of 1,600 much-needed social homes that will house up to 5,000 people.

The investment is expected to generate almost 600 construction jobs over four-years and support more than 400 associated jobs in the supply chain.

Steve Amos, Chair of Clanmil Housing, said: “This is really good news in a tough lending market. Faced with growing demand for social housing and increasing constraints on statutory funding, our challenge is to find new funding sources that will support continued investment in social housing and make the available public money go further.

“Thanks to strong working relationships with both banks and their confidence in Clanmil’s financial management, we have been able to agree a mix of funding at very competitive rates and with a range of tenures to support the delivery of such a large affordable housing investment programme.

“This funding leaves Clanmil well placed to continue to play a major role in the provision of good affordable homes for people in housing need. The Northern Ireland economy will also benefit from much needed jobs for the local construction industry.”

Welcoming the announcement of additional funding by Clanmil, Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said: “This funding will help provide an additional 1,600 social homes throughout Northern Ireland and will be welcomed by prospective tenants and the building industry. The next three years of the Social Housing Development Programme will see housing associations significantly step up output to deliver 2,000 new homes each year. Clanmil will play a key role in achieving these targets and this £120 million loan will be invaluable in partnering match funding from my Department to allow these ambitious targets to be met.”

Commenting on the financial package, Finance Minister Simon Hamilton said: “The financial package announced today demonstrates a growing confidence in an economy where banks are prepared to invest in sound projects such as the planned housing schemes. It is good news for those in need of housing, good news for jobs and good news for the construction sector.”

Chris Martin, Corporate Banking Manager, Danske Bank said: “We are delighted to have played a major role in the success of this landmark deal that is now progressing within Northern Ireland’s growing social housing sector. We have been working closely with those involved in the sector for a number of years, offering strong lending support, tailored expertise and have an established working relationship with the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations. This highly significant deal will be a great boost for Clanmil and of course for the thousands of people that will benefit through the provision of these new homes”.

Joanna McArdle, Director, Barclays said: “Barclays is keen to support the Department for Social Development’s targets for social and affordable housing. We are delighted to help finance Clanmil’s housing development programme over the next 4 years, which will provide a much needed injection of funding and jobs into the local construction industry. Clanmil has had a valued relationship with Barclays since 2007, and this additional funding of £45m means we will have advanced £80m to the Association in recent years. In total, Barclays has lent over £300m to the social housing sector, making it the number one lender to this vitally important sector in Northern Ireland.”

Clanmil Housing is continually seeking development opportunities that will help increase the social housing provision in areas of housing need throughout Northern Ireland and is always pleased to hear from landowners who have sites with development potential.

ENDS