Liverpool city region affordable housing provider Livv Housing Group secures £50m from NatWest to build 1,700 new homes. Tony McDonough reports

Livv Housing has secured £50m in finance from NatWest as it looks to build 1,700 affordable homes in Liverpool city region and across the North West.

It will also use some of the cash to retrofit existing properties to make them more energy efficient. Based in Knowsley, Livv’s portfolio already includes 13,000 homes across the North West.

In an interview with LBN in July last year, Livv executive director Tony Cahill said the housing association would spend around £120m over the next few years to decarbonise its housing stock in a major net zero push.

Livv saw its governance rating upgraded by the Regulator of Social Housing to G1 – the highest possible rating in social housing in 2022. This followed a three-and-a-half-year improvement programme.

A property is classed as affordable if the sale price or rent is no more than 80% of the local rate.

Howard Roberts, executive director of finance and property at Livv, said: “This (funding deal) really represents a key milestone for us and demonstrates how far we’ve come over the last few years.

“The package will enable us to not only build more new, affordable homes for local people but also to fund investment work into existing homes to improve energy efficiency and EPC ratings, benefiting our existing customers.

“As well as providing first-class homes to rent or buy, we work with our partners to support our customers and communities.

“We tackle tough issues such as unemployment, poverty, domestic violence, mental health and anti-social behaviour. Our new partnership with NatWest will help us to build on our work over the last few years.”

From its base on Prescot, Livv employs almost 500 people. It has already Implemented a range of measures including solar, LED lighting, a move away from gas and the installation of energy control systems.

This has resulted in a 53% reduction in carbon emissions from its properties between April 2019 and March 2021.

Martin Skinner, director of housing finance at NatWest, added: “Livv Housing Group’s improvement journey is a real testament to the organisation’s desire and determination to provide the very best housing and support they can.

“It is fantastic to be able to come together on a new finance package that will help create more affordable and sustainable homes across the region.”