£130m has been provided to Torus to help fund the development of approximately 800 new affordable homes across the communities of Warrington, St Helens and Liverpool over the next four years.
Torus is one of three housing associations to receive 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 in total.
ARA Venn is funding three 30-year loans totalling £250m under the scheme to Torus, Coastline Housing and Stonewater to help in the development of the homes amidst a challenging economic backdrop.
Oriane Auzanneau, Deputy Portfolio Manager for AHGS and Managing Director at ARA Venn, commented: “We are delighted to be able to support our borrowers with these 30-year loans, which will support the development of over 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.”
Peter Fieldsend, Chief Financial Officer, 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 have done an excellent job throughout the process delivering what we set out to achieve.”
A UK House of Commons Library Research Briefings from March 2022 highlight, states “The need for subsidised housing has long been recognised. The cost of private sector housing of acceptable standards, compared with the level and distribution of incomes and assets, means numerous households lack the means to make demand for decent housing effective in the market. Without subsidised housing, these households may fail to obtain housing of a decent standard”.