HA secures £100m refinancing package after returning to governance compliance

Ms Booker told Social Housing: “Basically, we couldn’t go to market as a G3, so we had to wait until we had taken the steps necessary to improve.

“We were upgraded to G2 in September 2021 and were then able to press ahead. So that was why we didn’t do it sooner.”

She added: “Obviously, there’s a lot of challenges at the moment in the wider UK economy. So, we wanted to ease some of that pressure by increasing our financial capacity, and allow ourselves to grow the business a little bit more.”

She said that Peaks & Plains is now working on achieving a G1 rating and that although the group has no plans for more financing deals in the immediate future, it will probably look to refinance in 2028.

Ms Booker said: “The new deal with Aviva Investors and Barclays has enabled us to restructure our existing loan portfolio and extend our existing liquidity lines. 

“We’re working with the regulator, and we have a plan to get from G2 to G1. But really, as far as we’re concerned, it’s crucial to embed the stuff that we’ve already done.

“So, we believe in our heart that if the regulator was to come out tomorrow and do another in-depth assessment, we are a G1 organisation. It’s been about making sure that those changes that we put in place to get us back to a compliant grade are really embedded across the whole of the trust.

“We’re just agreeing our strategic plan with our board now that will cover April 2023 to 2028. Obviously, refinancing is going to help, and I imagine towards the end of this period, we’ll probably be looking to refinance again.”

In its last reported full year to the end of March 2021, the landlord posted a £2.2m post-tax surplus off a reduced turnover of £28.4m.

Aviva Investors has completed a number of private placements in the sector, including £75m for Hertfordshire-based Settle and a £60m deal for Welsh association Coastal.

Munawer Shafi, head of structured finance and private debt at Aviva Investors, said: “The ability of social housing to provide solid cash flows whilst having a positive impact beyond our business and into communities makes it a compelling sector for us to increase our exposure to and to continue our support of.”

Robert Hession, relationship director at Barclays, said the bank has backed Peaks & Plains since its 2006 launch. 

“This new finance package will enable the business to continue on its growth trajectory, investing in existing homes, developing new social housing and delivering for its present and future residents,” he said. 

Savills Financial Consultants served as the financial advisor, while Savills worked as the valuer.

Devonshires was the legal advisor for Peaks & Plains. Addleshaw Goddard acted for Aviva and Gowling acted for Barclays.