Octopus and Homes England alliance hits £26m milestone with SME developers eager to go greener

Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Group and a specialist real estate lender and investor, has announced today that it has recently completed four pioneering loans as part of its Greener Homes Alliance initiative with Homes England.

The four completed loans total in excess of £26m and 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 Ltd 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 an SAP 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 the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, 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 (EPC) 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 (as measured using the Standard Assessment Procedure [SAP]).

Homes achieving an EPC rating of A benefit from interest rate margin discounts of 2 per cent. The four deals completed since May have the potential to amount to combined savings of over £500k.

Harry Swales, chief investment officer at Homes England, commented: “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.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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