River Clyde Homes has secured a £117m loan facility from the Royal Bank of Scotland to help address rising demand for sustainable, energy efficient homes in the west of Scotland.
The registered charity plans to use the funding to raise living standards in the affordable housing market, with a focus on the sustainability of existing properties.
Key investment priorities for tenants include reducing energy demand and bills, improving air quality, lowering carbon emissions, and creating future-proofed homes.
The package is made up of £20m of new funding, along with a £97.5m refinancing restructure.
Formed in 2007, River Clyde Homes manages more than 6,000 homes and provides factoring services to a further 2,200 customers in the Inverclyde area. It employs around 300 members of staff.
John Wright, executive group services director at River Clyde Homes, said: “Securing this funding is a major milestone for River Clyde Homes and the flexibility within this funding package will help us to deliver our future ambitions.
“These include enabling significant investment to modernise existing homes for customers and helping River Clyde Homes on its journey towards net zero.
“This investment will not only assist the organisation to lower its carbon footprint but will also help to reduce running costs for customers in the face of spiralling energy prices.”
The announcement continues to deliver on RBS' commitment to provide £3bn to support the advancement of the UK’s social housing sector. The bank is set to complete this objective in 2022.
Last month, the bank published a report which found that meeting net zero targets would give Scotland’s economy a £22bn revenue boost between now and 2030. The buildings sector accounted for 44% of the revenue opportunity that could be realised through the delivery of improvements to premises such as insulation and the installation of heat pumps.
David Horne, relationship manager at RBS, said: “This funding builds on a long-term relationship with River Clyde Homes, which we have supported since transfer in 2007.
“The funding structure is designed to support the association as they adapt to short-term challenges in the market such as rising interest rates and inflation, whilst also providing them with long-term stability and confidence to deliver vital infrastructure projects that raise living standards and build closer communities.”
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