Housing association secures £50m retrofit loan
A housing association in the South of England has secured a £50m loan from a major bank to retrofit 2,000 homes.
Vivid has agreed the loan with Lloyds Bank to fund the retrofit of the housing association’s homes across Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and West Sussex.
The housing association, which owns 37,000 homes, is working on a programme of insulation upgrades, low-carbon heating systems and solar panel installations to bring all its homes up to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above by 2030.
Lloyds said the loan will help accelerate Vivid’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, lower energy bills for customers and future-proof its homes against climate challenges.
This is Lloyds’ third green retrofit loan of the year after previous deals with housing associations Peabody and SNG.
The bank is working alongside the government’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) to deliver £500m of lending for social housing retrofit, backed by guarantees of up to £750m provided by the NWF.
Across its three loans to Vivid, Peabody and SNG, Lloyds has so far this year delivered £210m of its £500m lending target under the NWF’s social housing retrofit guarantee scheme.
Lloyds said its retrofit loans will support an estimated 2,000 jobs in plumbing, insulation and renewable energy installation, while improving 11,000 homes.
David Ball, chief financial officer at Vivid, said: “We’re proud to build on our existing relationship with Lloyds on this £50m green retrofit loan backed by the National Wealth Fund.
“This funding continues our commitment to provide our customers with warmer, more energy-efficient homes and help reduce carbon emissions. This will really improve the lives of our customers.”
Jess Tomlinson, global head of real estate and housing at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This third retrofit loan delivered so far this year is more than a financial transaction, it’s a signal of our long-term commitment to help ensure families have a safer, warmer and more efficient place to call home.
“We’re proud to work alongside leading housing associations like Vivid to support them with their retrofit ambitions and help deliver economic benefit, not just for residents, but for the wider communities around them.”
Stuart Nivison, head of portfolio management at the National Wealth Fund, said: “It is encouraging to see providers like Vivid accessing a variety of products under our guarantee scheme, with hundreds of millions of pounds backed by the National Wealth Fund already allocated to vital retrofit measures.”
Last month, Inside Housing interviewed Ms Tomlinson of Lloyds about shared ownership, retrofit loans and for-profit providers.
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