Affordable housing provider Torus secures £130m of finance to build 800 new homes in Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool-based affordable housing provider Torus is to build 800 new homes over the next four years after securing a £130m loan.
Torus will build the homes in Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington after receiving funding from the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS), which ARA Venn manages for the UK Government, to support the development of over 1,500 new affordable homes.
ARA Venn is funding three 30-year loans totalling £250m under the scheme to Torus, Coastline Housing and Stonewater.
Peter Fieldsend, chief financial officer at Torus, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in the AHGS and to achieve a good outcome which fits within our business plan parameters.
“This now gives us the funding for the development of much needed new affordable homes across our communities. ARA Venn has done an excellent job throughout the process delivering what we set out to achieve.”
Torus is already working on a number of new build schemes. In January LBN reported it was to start work on a £9.8m residential development in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle that had stalled under a previous developer.
Torus has appointed its in-house construction arm HMS to complete The Vaults in St James Street by spring 2024. It comprises 64 apartments as well as commercial space.
A UK House of Commons Library Research Briefings from March 2022 highlighted, stated the cost of private sector housing meant millions of people were missing out on being able to “obtain housing of a decent standard”.
Oriane Auzanneau, deputy portfolio manager for AHGS and managing director at ARA Venn, added: “We are delighted to be able to support our borrowers with these 30-year loans.
“They will support the development of more than 1,500 much needed new affordable homes in the communities they serve across England.
“The attractive funding allows our borrowers to effectively support their investment and delivery ambitions within the constraints of their long-term business plans, showing the benefit of utilising the AHGS programme.”