Legal & General’s Suburban Build-to-Rent business (LGSBTR) has signed a £150m five-year Revolving Credit Facility to finance its pipeline of 1,000 Suburban Build-to-Rent homes.
Backed by HSBC UK, Barclays and Natwest, the facility will help to address the significant demand for quality rental housing across the UK, creating the high-quality homes and communities that enable people to live healthier lives.
The loan follows LGSBTR’s recent announcement with Cala Homes on the exchange of 107 homes at Buckler’s Park, Crowthorne, in the South East of England. This was the first forward funding transaction between LGSBTR and major homebuilder Cala, which are both owned by Legal & General Capital.
Legal & General’s SBTR platform creates family homes in areas connected to schools, transport infrastructure and key amenities, with a view to offering a best-in-class product, exceptional service as an institutional landlord, and a long-term, reliable service proposition for customers.
LGSBTR says that its homes are designed to reflect ‘new ways of living post-Covid’ and features that promote health, such as exceptional build quality, home offices for flexible working, and access to more extensive outdoor space.
In line with Legal & General’s wider commitment to sustainability, the SBTR platform will target to be operationally carbon net zero from 2030.
LGSBTR have also set up a Healthy Communities Committee, which includes learnings from the NHS Healthy New Towns programme, to support health and wellbeing throughout the communities it creates. The committee will ensure that all homes and communities are designed specifically with health and wellbeing at their core.
Jane Sullivan, finance director, Suburban Build To Rent at Legal & General Capital, said: “To have secured a facility of this size in such a challenging credit environment is testament to the merit of the product that SBTR is delivering, as well as the strength of relationship with our banking partners.
“Now more than ever there needs to be an affordable rental option that provides a viable choice. At LGSBTR we are determined to meet that need with high quality, well managed and specifically designed properties. LGSBTR are delighted to be working in partnership with HSBC UK, Natwest and Barclays, with this loan facility being the vital next step in helping us to deliver our mission, addressing the shortfall in high quality affordable rental properties.”
David Reid, MD, Suburban Build To Rent at Legal & General Capital, remarked: “Committed to creating sustainable and healthy communities for our customers, we have established an internal Healthy Communities Committee, recognising the homes and communities we create can play a significant role in addressing health inequalities in future. This Loan facility will support this ambition and help us to deliver a new choice of healthy homes for renters.”
Michael Goode, director & BTR lead at NatWest, commented: “We are delighted to support Legal & General in bringing much needed, high quality, professionally managed accommodation to the private rented sector. We believe the structural fundamentals will support single-family BTR in becoming a leading UK investment sector, as has been demonstrated in more mature rental markets overseas.”
Dan Wright, head of housing at HSBC UK, added: “HSBC UK is committed to helping its clients accomplish their social responsibility goals. The provision of high-quality affordable housing not only makes good business sense but more importantly will have a big impact on our communities.”
