Housing Association Borrows £50m To Insure Against Brexit

Housing Solutions has secured a £50m revolving credit facility (RCF) from the bank Santander. The 7,500-home association took out the facility, which will last five years and can be drawn down and repaid as it likes over that time, as an “insurance policy”, it said. Andrew Robertson, finance and resources director at Housing Solutions, told Inside Housing: “The RCF gives us a potential cash bridge in the event that capital markets got tighter or pricing got more expensive, what with Brexit going on at the moment. We may not be using it on day one. It’s there as an insurance policy. Obviously, we have to pay commitment fees while it’s undrawn but we think that’s sensible.” Read more on Inside Housing.

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Half of Councils Setting Up Companies to Tackle Housing Shortage

Nearly half of councils in England have either set up a housing company or are considering doing so, according to a new survey. The research, conducted by 3Fox International, shows 12% of councils have already created a housing company to generate income from developments, with 34% actively debating the idea. The survey showed that the main driver for setting up a housing company was the need to provide a long-term housing solution (61%), with a third saying the main objective was to raise money. Read more on the LocalGov website.