Join us every fortnight when we'll be taking a look at the UK housing headlines making the rounds. Breaking down the key information and giving you our thoughts!
UK's National Wealth Fund launches £150m housing retrofit scheme
The UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF) and The Housing Finance Corporation have launched a £150m unsecured debt facility to fund green upgrades for social housing. Backed by an NWF guarantee, Rothesay has fully funded the initial investment, with hopes to expand to £250m in six months.
The initiative provides housing associations with long-term, unsecured loans at competitive rates, enabling improvements such as low-carbon heating, insulation, and renewable energy. It marks the first time NWF has offered guarantees for bind market investors.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has highlighted the scheme's potential to create jobs and enhance energy-efficient social housing. The NWF, established in 2023, aims to mobilise private investment for economic growth and the energy transition.
These upgrades are seen as critical within the sector, with one-third of socially rented homes in England having low energy efficiency, and nearly 15% of UK households in fuel poverty residing in social housing.
Lumensol Says: “As is well known, the challenge for landlords to achieve the investment levels necessary to meet the ambitious milestones for Net Zero by 2050 is significant (with most Local Authorities adopting an accelerated timeline). Making best use of blended funding routes available and access to additional monies through schemes such as the National Wealth Fund, provide an opportunity to support landlords with their transition to a zero-carbon environment and future-proof their assets.
Lumensol are supporting a number of clients to navigate both their funding options and necessary investment profiles to achieve their objectives.
Martin Baker, Director of Operations & Transformation
Housing Associations reinvest record amounts into new and existing homes.
The Housing Associations invested a record £14.6bn in new and existing homes, up from £12.5bn. Focusing on development, safety, energy efficiency, and stock quality, according to the Regulator of Social Housing's latest Value for Money report. Despite financial pressures from inflation and rising borrowing costs, the sector delivered 49,287 new social homes - the highest since 2021.
The median cost per property rose by 12% to £5,136. London led on reinvestment into existing homes, but spent less on new developments.
The report included new data on stock characteristics, helping landlords understand cost variations. Will Perry of RSH emphasised the sector's resilience despite financial challenges, urging landlords to improve efficiency to sustain housing supply and services.
Lumensol Says: “Obviously a positive increase in investment by Housing Associations despite the economic backdrop, however there are more cost pressures to come from April onwards and more pressure to invest in new homes as part of the Government's 350,000 new homes per year policy.
Housing Associations will need to tread a fine line between investing in new homes, and maintaining and upgrading their existing stock, while absorbing the additional costs."
James Gutteridge, Executive Consultant, Financial Services