Barclays today announces that it has teamed up with the UK
Government to provide £1bn of development finance to help build
thousands of new homes across England to help increase the pace
and volume of housing provision.
Loans ranging from £5 million to £100 million, which will be
competitively priced, are available for developers and house
builders who are able to demonstrate the necessary experience and
track record to undertake and complete their proposed
project. Funding is open to new clients as well as
existing Barclays clients, and will put greater emphasis on
diversifying the housing market, as at present, almost two-thirds
of homes are built by just ten companies.
A key priority of The Housing Delivery
Fund is to support small and medium sized businesses to
develop homes for rent or sale including social housing,
retirement living and the private rented sector, whilst also
supporting innovation in the model of delivery such as brownfield
land and urban regeneration projects.
Launching the fund, , Barclays’ Chairman,
said:
“There is a vital need to build more good quality homes across
the country. This £1bn fund is about helping to do exactly
that by showing firms in the business of house building that the
right finance is available for projects that help meet this
urgent need.
“We are very pleased to be working with government to get the
country building more homes, more quickly.”
Housing Secretary Rt Hon MP, said:
“My priority as Housing Secretary is to get Britain building the
homes our country needs. This new fund - partnering
Homes England with Barclays - is a further important step by
giving smaller builders access to the finance they need to
get housing developments off the ground.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to not only get more homes built
but also promote new and innovative
approaches to construction and design that exist across
the housing market.”
Chairman of Homes England, Sir Ed Lister, said:
“Homes England has been established to play a more active role in
the housing market and do things differently to increase the
pace, scale and quality of delivering new homes.
“The Housing Delivery Fund demonstrates Barclays’ commitment to
the residential sector and will provide a new funding stream for
SME developers to help progress sites and deliver more affordable
homes across England.”
Today’s agreement with Barclays forms part of the Government’s
wider commitment to increase the pace of housing delivery in
England. Ministers have been clear on their ambition to
achieve 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, which follows
217,000 homes built last year, the biggest increase in housing
supply in England for almost a decade.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
- · Of the
£1bn fund, Barclays is providing £875m and Homes England, the
Government’s national housing agency, will contribute £125m.
- · The
total funding for a development scheme is up to 80% Loan to Cost
and 70% Loan to Value allowing developers to stretch their
equity/capital further.
