TradeRisks arranges £800mn of revolving credit facilities to support G15 housing association

TradeRisks, a financial advisory firm owned by Gresham House plc that focuses on the social housing and infrastructure sectors, has secured £800mn of revolving credit facilities for Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), one of the leading housing associations in the UK. 

The financing was provided by a combination of new and existing lenders. TradeRisks supported NHG in bilateral negotiations on commercial terms with multiple lenders.

Several of the facilities also incorporated a framework for sustainability-linked pricing. This allows NHG, at a future date, to take advantage of a margin reduction upon achieving agreed KPIs. During TradeRisks’ interactions with lenders, the team identified a strong appetite to promote NHG’s sustainable practices through its financing. This is typically accomplished by the lender identifying ESG KPIs at the outset that the borrower is already monitoring, as well as setting additional ambitious targets for the borrower to meet. This allows both lenders and borrowers to demonstrate their commitment to achieving ESG objectives. The borrower also benefits from a margin reduction upon meeting pre-agreed KPIs.

TradeRisks also advised NHG in transitioning from LIBOR to SONIA for its existing facilities, as well as negotiating the new facilities on a SONIA basis.

Wasiu Fadahunsi, Corporate Finance Director at Notting Hill Genesis, says: “We are delighted to have secured competitively priced liquidity lines to support our development programme over the coming years.”

Gourav Choudhary, Director at TradeRisks, adds: “We are pleased to have supported NHG on this financing. We are seeing very strong demand from lenders for housing association credit, including from several new entrants who are providing highly competitive pricing and borrower-friendly covenant structures at levels not seen since before the 2008 financial crisis.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

TradeRisks Ltd is a financial advisory services firm and a specialist in arranging financing for the infrastructure, housing, and renewable energy sectors. TradeRisks has arranged or negotiated more than £20bn of funding over the past 20 years. TradeRisks is part of Gresham House plc.