Octopus Real Estate has completed four new loans totalling more than £26m as part of its Greener Homes Alliance initiative with Homes England.
The four completed loans will fund developments of 80 new homes in Bristol, Sussex, Cambridgeshire and London, to be delivered by Autograph Homes, Turnbull Homes, Blues Property and Albemarle Proma respectively.
The development financed by the Greener Homes Alliance for developer Autograph comprises 30 houses in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. Eight of the properties will be affordable.
Autograph will be developing EPC A+ and A homes, aiming for a Standard Assessment Procedure score of 92. The development will utilise low-carbon technologies such as PV panels, air source heat pumps, electric vehicle charging points and the optional extra of a home battery – a large battery that you have installed at home to store excess electricity – to reduce bills and carbon even further.
The Albemarle Proma loan, of £10.5m, is on a site in Beckenham, Greater London, and will fund the development of 27 homes, utilising PV panels and quality insulation, as well as the inclusion of multiple EV charging points for residents.
The Alliance, formed late last year with Homes England, pledged to commit £175m in providing both loan finance and expert support to SME housebuilders, enabling them to build more high-quality, energy-efficient homes throughout England.
Homes funded must achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of B, with developers benefiting from increasing interest rate margin discounts on the loan as the energy efficiency of the homes increases above this.
Homes achieving an EPC rating of A benefit from interest rate margin discounts of 2%. The four deals completed since May have the potential to amount to combined savings of more than £500,000.
Harry Swales, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “This recent milestone demonstrates the impact the Greener Homes Alliance has had on the market, and the appetite of SME developers to build more energy-efficient homes is clear to see. We’re sure that the alliance will continue to provide SMEs with a route to finance that may otherwise be unavailable, to help them build the homes of the future.”
Octopus Real Estate chief executive Benjamin Davis added: “By working together with Homes England, McBains and Octopus Energy, we are providing unprecedented access to both funding and expertise to help developers make greener decisions for their projects.
“Creating more energy-efficient homes is vital if this country is going to make progress towards net zero. As a B Corp, Octopus Real Estate is committed to reimagining real estate by future-proofing developments and driving the green acceleration of the property market.”
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