Lloyds Bank has backed a West Midlands housing association with its largest ever loan linked to sustainability.
Solihull-based Platform Housing will use the mammoth £235 million worth of new funding to help it develop new affordable housing and decarbonise its existing portfolio.
The company's current stock of properties comprises around 47,000 homes serving more than 100,000 people in the region and it employs 1,500 staff.
The funding is Lloyds Bank's biggest-ever loan for the social housing sector linked to sustainability and will focus on three key areas.
Platform Housing will improve the energy efficiency of its existing portfolio by changing the fabric of buildings and introducing low-carbon technologies to heat and power homes.
It will also aim to increase the energy efficiency of all of its new-build properties as it begins to ramp up development activities to above pre-pandemic levels of 1,500 homes a year.
Finally, Platform Housing plans to invest in its staff and communities by increasing the proportion of employees undertaking apprenticeships each year, boosting the figure by 0.5 per cent every year for the next five years.
Chief finance officer Rosemary Farrar said: "The Midlands has one of the most acute housing shortages in the country.
"That means developing stock that is both fit for purpose and fit for the future is crucial.
"We're proud that our ambitions cover a range of environmental, social and corporate governance objectives and will deliver a housing portfolio that benefits the communities we operate in across the region."
Jatinder Dhaliwal, regional head of housing at Lloyds Bank, added: "Platform Housing is committed to enhancing its environmental, social and corporate governance offering to its communities and within the social housing sector and we're proud to help the association on its journey.
"This funding will make a lasting impact on the quality and availability of housing across the Midlands and we're looking forward to working closely with Platform as it delivers its objectives."
