Housing association raises £125m from six investors under green loan principles

Hightown’s latest funds will be used to help deliver “energy-efficient affordable homes” in its core areas of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, the group said.

It has borrowed £45m on a 10-year tenor, £40m on a 12-year tenor and £40m on a 20-year tenor. 

The interest rate on the deals was not disclosed. Hightown said the order book was “four times oversubscribed”.

David Bogle, chief executive at Hightown, said: “This £125m adds a welcome degree of flexibility to the funding of our development programme.” 

The landlord is aiming for around 1,000 new home completions over the next two years. 

Last month, Moody’s maintained its ‘negative’ outlook on Hightown amid the tough operating environment. Around a year ago, the landlord was among a string of associations downgraded to a V2 for financial viability by the Regulator of Social Housing due to the economic conditions. 

In its last full year, Hightown reported a 12 per cent drop in surplus to £18.5m off an increased turnover of £111.9m. 

George Flynn, a director at Savills Financial Consultants, added: “At a time when the sector is facing a multitude of challenges and uncertainties, this financing provides the organisation with valuable stability that will facilitate its continued impressive growth over the coming years.”