Peabody lands new £75m loan with employee diversity objectives

Anthony Marriott, director of treasury and corporate finance at Peabody, said: “The metrics agreed in this transaction closely align with our new strategic priorities following our merger with Catalyst.

“We are all about people, placing equality, diversity and inclusion at the core of our culture in the new organisation.

“We will take positive steps to ensure the ethnic diversity of our leadership team better reflects the communities we serve in the years to come, and this is reflected in the agreement. 

“We’re also passionate about our sustainability journey, building new homes to a high standard and investing in improving the environmental performance of our existing homes.

“The partnership with ABN AMRO will help us accelerate this as well as supporting the delivery of more affordable homes and placemaking activities in London and the Home Counties.”  

Peabody and Catalyst merged earlier this year to create a 104,000-home landlord.

Peabody said that its other sustainability-linked loan agreements with lenders “incentivise affordable childcare places, electric charging points on Peabody estates, improving the environmental performance of homes, and creating opportunities for young people through a Peabody Fellowship programme”.

The new loan comes after Peabody’s 12-year, £350m sustainability bond issue in February and is its fourth sustainability-linked facility.

The loan is Dutch bank ABN AMRO’s first sustainability-linked transaction in the UK social housing sector and forms part of its corporate strategy to grow its franchise in countries across north-west Europe.   

The bank is heavily involved in the Dutch social housing sector. Peabody said this is comparable to the UK’s sector, with housing associations in the Netherlands owning and managing ageing estates in large cities.  

Gerben Dragt, UK country executive at ABN AMRO, said: “We are delighted to support Peabody in meeting their social and environmental objectives.

“This new loan includes both sustainability and socially linked metrics that also align perfectly with ABN AMRO’s strong ongoing commitment to sustainability and having a positive social impact. 

“The UK social housing sector faces challenges that go to the heart of society in terms of the quality and safety of housing as well as reducing carbon footprint.

“Like in the Netherlands, ABN AMRO can help UK providers improve the sustainability of their existing portfolios and support their journey to net zero.”