Affordable homes provider VIVID has secured a new £75m sustainability-linked facility on a 10-year term from Nationwide.
VIVID said the new facility would allow it to continue to improve existing homes and build new energy efficient homes for its customers.
The loan features a number of ESG-related KPIs including the condition that VIVID must maintain its G1 rating (governance, risk management and internal control) with the Regulator of Social Housing.
Duncan Brown, chief finance officer of VIVID, said: “We’re pleased to be able to have secured this facility to continue to help us create homes and environments that have our customers at the heart.”
Jonathan Roberts, group treasurer of VIVID, added: “This loan is the perfect complement to our existing debt portfolio sitting between short-term RCF funding and longer-term bond debt. The facility is tightly priced and reinforces stretching ESG targets for us to deliver sustainable housing. We continue to be pleased with the support from the team at Centrus, the insights and expertise they bring in identifying funding partners capable of providing the flexibility, pricing and breadth of products we need to advance our growth and de-carbonisation journey.”
Thomas Archer, from Centrus, said “We are pleased to have arranged this new ESG linked facility between VIVID and Nationwide which will fund new energy efficient homes and improvements to existing homes. The new funding benefits from a very competitive margin and takes advantage of the inversion between SONIA swap rates and gilt yields to deliver an attractive all-in cost for today’s market.”
Helen Fysh, partner at Trowers and Hamlins, said: “We’re delighted to have worked with VIVID in raising finance to further support its ambitious development programme, and naturally, for VIVID, those new homes will be built to the highest possible EPC standards.”
Heidi Billington, director of property finance and public sector lending at Nationwide, added: “We are delighted to welcome back VIVID as a customer of Nationwide and supporting them through the provision of a new 10-year SLL facility. We look forward to working with this highly regarded provider of affordable housing and growing the relationship to support VIVID achieve its ambitions in the coming years.”
