Octopus Real Estate loans house builder £6.9m to finance ‘zero bills’ homes
Octopus Real Estate has loaned a house builder £6.9m to build ‘zero bills’ homes in Bristol.
Octopus Real Estate has loaned a house builder £6.9m to build ‘zero bills’ homes in Bristol, where residents will be guaranteed no energy bills for 10 years #UKhousingOctopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Investments, has loaned £6.9m to house builder Verto. The loan will finance the development of seven five-bedroom homes and five four-bedroom homes in Blagdon, Upper Langford, Bristol.
All 12 properties will be built to Verto’s zero carbon specification and will be eligible for the ‘zero bills’ tariff created by Octopus Energy, which receives investment from Octopus Investments, so residents are guaranteed no energy bills for at least 10 years.
The homes will have electric vehicle charging, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, high-performance insulation, underfloor heating, triple-glazed windows and doors and A-rated appliances.
Locally sourced materials including FSC-certified timber frames will also be included.
The homes are predicted to have EPC ratings of 110 A, and the dwelling carbon dioxide rate will be up to -2.5 tonnes per annum per plot, compared to the average household emission rate of six tonnes per annum.
Octopus told Inside Housing all the homes will be for market sale. This will be the third zero-bills site delivered by Verto and funded by Octopus Real Estate.
Nigel Banks, director of zero bills at Octopus Energy, said that this initiative will bring Octopus Energy “one step closer” to its goal of 100,000 zero-bills homes by 2030.
Jenna Hollins, investment manager at Octopus Real Estate, added: “It is the responsibility of the property finance sector to support developers as they work to deliver homes that reach the highest green standards possible.”
In September, Octopus Energy struck a deal with another house builder, Thakeham, to deliver a zero-bills tariff on all its new developments.
Thakeham’s chief executive Rob Boughton told Inside Housing that the additional costs for delivering zero-bills homes are reducing but are currently estimated at £8,000 to £15,000 per home, depending on size. Batteries are likely to need replacement every 12 to 15 years at a current cost of £6,000.
Mr Boughton said that social landlords should be allowed to charge higher rents on homes that guarantee zero energy bills, so they can keep a portion of the energy savings from green homes.
Inside Housing reported in January that Octopus Investments had aimed to double the size of its affordable housing fund to £485m this year.
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