Legal & General has completed the purchase of a £150 mln (€210 mln) long dated loan to housing association The Hyde Group from Santander, in its first acquisition of an existing social housing loan.
Legal & General has completed the purchase of a £150 mln (€210 mln) long dated loan to housing association The Hyde Group from Santander, in its first acquisition of an existing social housing loan.
Through the purchase of the debt exposure, which has a final maturity in 2041, L&G has been able to introduce further flexibility to the terms, including the absence of financial covenants, which provides Hyde with additional freedom to continue to meet its long term business requirements.
The deal represents L&G’s third loan to Hyde, having provided facilities on a non-recourse basis to two of Hyde’s subsidiaries, Hyde Southbank Homes and Hillside Housing Trust , in 2013 when it first entered the social housing lending market.
Hyde owns or manages around 50,000 properties in the UK.
'Our long dated money is a good match for this type of loan and sector. Whilst there has clearly been a desire by existing mainstream bank lenders, such as Santander, to work with institutions to refinance existing long term loan commitments, this is the most significant example and has required a constructive approach by all three parties,' said Alex Gipson, Social Housing Lending manager at Legal & General.
