Macquarie Asset Management supports Welsh housing association with £150 million debt financing agreement

Macquarie Asset Management has today announced an agreement to provide long-term debt facilities totalling £150 million to Melin Homes, a charitable registered social housing association in Wales.

Melin Homes owns and operates approximately 4,600 homes across five local authority areas in south east Wales, providing affordable housing to more than 9,000 people. In addition to offering homes for rent, Melin Homes also offers properties for sale through its low-cost home ownership scheme and subsidiary Candleston.

The bespoke financing is comprised of a £50 million committed facility with a 38-year tenor and an additional £100 million uncommitted shelf facility for use by Melin Homes at a later date on similar terms. The financing provides Melin Homes with both flexibility and certainty as it seeks to deliver 1,000 new homes by 2025 and meet its long-term growth ambitions. 

Gareth Edwards, a Senior Vice President in Macquarie Asset Management’s Private Credit team, said: “We are very pleased to have partnered with Melin Homes, an experienced operator with a strong track record for making a positive impact on communities, in our first social housing investment in Wales. This financing package, which has been tailored to Melin Homes' specific investment needs, will help its team continue their important work of delivering modern and sustainable housing to those who need it most.”

Peter Crockett, Deputy Chief Executive of Melin Homes, said: “We are delighted to have secured a long-term funding package that will help deliver our growth aspirations. The certainty of future costs that this brings gives added comfort and assurance to our Board to aid future planning. Macquarie’s flexible approach and efforts to understand our business and funding needs have laid the foundations for an effective long-term partnership.”

The financing agreement represents Macquarie Asset Management’s first loan to a Welsh social housing association. The business has provided approximately £800 million of debt facilities in the United Kingdom’s social housing sector on behalf of its institutional clients.