Bromford secures £75m loan linked to employee well-being targets, with European lender

The group recently took further strides, in embedding what it referred to as “‘sustainability golden metrics” into a trading update to the financial markets for the first time, and called on the board behind the sector’s ESG standard to promote the approach.

In an article for Social Housing last month (May), Imran Mubeen, director of treasury at Bromford, said that poor sustainability disclosures “are akin to junk credit status”, and urged the sector to “stop hiding behind… financial metrics and start telling [its] story”.

Commenting on its latest SLL, Mr Mubeen said: “We’re delighted to expand our credit lines to a fifth provider, as we continue to drive diversity in our funder base. Our enhanced RCF portfolio will allow us to respond to new market opportunities as they emerge.

“We are particularly pleased to develop this partnership with ABN AMRO as we disrupt legacy conventions and continue to drive the value our sector deserves. ABN AMRO have already demonstrated a firm commitment to UK social housing and they will be one of our key partners who support us through our funding cycle.”

The deal for AMN AMRO comes soon after it signed a £100m SLL with Orbit Group.

Richard Smith, director of corporate and investment banking coverage at ABN AMRO UK, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Bromford team in developing a sustainability-linked loan that supports staff wellness and transitioning members of their customer base back into employment or career-enhancing training – goals which align our own ESG ambitions. We’re excited to begin this journey together and look forward to developing a long-term relationship.”

The ESG targets on the deal are driven by the group’s sustainable finance framework, launched in 2021 but recently updated to reflect the three overarching lenses it now applies to strategic decisions: “financial, customer and sustainability”.

The KPIs will see the group aim to reduce the average number of sick days among employees from nine to 6.5, and to coach 1,400 customers into employment or training by 2028. If these are achieved so that Bromford receives the allotted discount on the loans, these savings will be reinvested in community projects. The interest rate and potential discount were not disclosed.

The targets were developed by Fiona Regan, chief people officer at Bromford, and Ashling Fox, the association’s chief customer officer. Ms Regan said that the well-being of colleagues at Bromford is a priority for the group.

“As part of our work leading into this loan, we refreshed our well-being framework that drives our actions. We have expanded our activity aimed at reducing absence days to include in-house physio support, additional mental health awareness training, investment in the Yu Life app to promote healthier lifestyles, and the employee assistance programme to provide a wide range of support services,” Ms Regan said.

Ms Fox added: “Across our core geographies, the number of people unemployed and seeking employment has increased by 20 per cent since 2022 alone. We want to develop new partnerships with training providers and local employers to help our customers get back into work – it’s a core part of our new Bromford Strategy as we continue to invest in homes and relationships so our people can thrive.”