Arbour Housing is investing over £8 million in retrofitting 600 homes with sustainable improvements in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area with support from Ulster Bank it is announced today.
The tenants living in the housing association’s older housing stock in this area will benefit from heating upgrades, window and door improvements, and solar panel installation, enabled by a first of its kind support from the bank.
Arbour Housing is one of the first housing associations in Northern Ireland to avail of a £5m Housing Green Retrofit loan from Ulster Bank, backed by a guarantee from the National Wealth Fund (NWF), and the first facility of its type to be completed within Ulster Bank’s parent group NatWest. It forms part of a £500 million lending initiative by NatWest Group that is backed by a financial guarantee of up to £400 million by the NWF to accelerate energy efficiency upgrades in UK social housing.
Welcoming the investment, Will Chambré, Chair of Arbour Housing, said: “I am extremely proud that Arbour Housing is taking the lead by making a significant investment to demonstrate our commitment to helping meet Northern Ireland’s climate change targets and providing our tenants with quality homes.
“By improving the energy efficiency of our homes, we are helping our tenants to live more comfortably and sustainably, sharing the benefits of lower energy costs and reduced carbon emissions across our communities, and growing a housing stock that is fit for the future. We are grateful for the expert and dedicated support from Ulster Bank in helping Arbour Housing to deliver a project that adds real, social, environmental and long-term value.”
Kenton Hilman, Head of Corporate Banking at Ulster Bank says: “We are very pleased to support Arbour Housing with this important investment. This demonstrates how government-backed guarantees and private investment can work together to reduce the cost of decarbonisation, deliver meaningful environmental and social impact, supporting a greener future for communities across Northern Ireland”.
Ollie Hughes, Northern Ireland Director of Banking and Investments for the National Wealth Fund, said: “By supporting NatWest’s £500 million lending initiative, we’re helping to accelerate vital investment into the social housing retrofit sector. This loan is a great example, helping Arbour Housing to provide communities in Northern Ireland with warmer and more eco-friendly homes.”
Today, NatWest Group has also announced an updated package of £10 billion of funding to the UK social housing sector before the end of 2028, which when deployed will bring the total funding to social housing in the UK from the Group to over £35 billion* since 2018.
Through this new ambition, the Group, including Ulster Bank, is aiming to support the delivery and maintenance of social housing in the UK, which is vital to the people and families who rely on affordable housing, as well as the wider economy. NatWest Group has worked with not-for-profit housing associations across the UK to support their growth and development plans building homes and communities for many years.
In announcing the £10 billion commitment, Paul Thwaite, CEO NatWest Group said: “We are incredibly proud to announce the early achievement of our £7.5 billion UK social housing lending ambition. Delivering this milestone a full year ahead of schedule demonstrates our commitment to making a real difference in people’s lives by investing in the homes and communities that need it most, and shows the demand in the market.
“Reaching this lending ambition early has enabled us to set a new target of £10 billion to year-end 2028, so we can continue to provide social housing lending and play our part in supporting the development and availability of affordable and social rent homes across the UK.”
The announcement forms part of the bank’s new five point Growing Together plan, setting out how the bank will help build the conditions for UK wide growth: backing powerful regions, championing mid-market companies, strengthening the country’s infrastructure and housing foundations, boosting financial confidence amongst families and young people, and supporting the innovators shaping the future economy. Drawing on its regional footprint, expertise and convening power, the bank aims to bring businesses, communities, and policymakers together to tackle structural barriers, unlock productivity and spread opportunity across the UK.
Arbour Housing is a community-based housing association in Northern Ireland, playing a central role in providing quality social housing and supporting sustainable communities.
The NWF will guarantee 80% of each retrofit loan originated by NatWest Group up to £500 million for a total commitment of up to £400 million. The guaranteed commitment will help to enable private capital to be mobilised into the social housing sector at both scale and an attractive price, removing a significant barrier to the deployment of funds within the sector by increasing access to financing for registered providers of social housing.
The lending aims to help registered providers of social housing reduce energy consumption and accelerate the decarbonisation of their housing stock. In line with NWF’s previous social housing retrofit investments, the loans will be used on eligible measures for retrofit, including the installation of energy efficient heating and lighting, insulation, renewable energy generation, ventilation and heating controls, as well as work on resilience measures and biodiversity.