Moat secures £100m funding to accelerate retrofits and house building

South-east housing association Moat has secured a £100m sustainability linked loan facility from Lloyds Bank to retrofit its existing stock and boost house building across the region. 

The organisation, which manages more than 21,000 homes across Kent, Essex, Sussex and London, will use the funding to achieve its housebuilding and ESG objectives over the next five years.

It will receive covenants on the funding should it meet three KPIs (key performance indicators) agreed with Lloyds Bank. 

The first KPI relates to retrofitting the properties within its existing property portfolio to upgrade its sustainability performance. 

Moat will carry out a programme of ‘worst first’ retrofits to focus on homes that are currently below EPC C standards. 

These works will improve insulation, replace windows and explore opportunities to install newer technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps.

For the second KPI, Moat is committing to building new, affordable rental homes each year over the next five years. The homes will be built to a minimum EPC B standard. 

The final objective will see Moat increase its number of new apprentices recruited each year.

Gloria Yang, executive director finance at Moat said: “We are very pleased to have Lloyds Bank supporting us to invest more during an economically and politically challenging period. 

“We have committed to achieving these three stretching targets to ensure that we invest in skills, sustainable existing, and new homes for years to come. 

“Working with partners, we are proud to build more affordable homes to meet the strong demand in the South-east.” 

Lauren Bailey, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, added: “Housing associations have a big task ahead of them as demand for more affordable housing across the UK increases, however they are also focused on the importance of improving the energy efficiency of their existing portfolios. 

“We knew from the outset that Moat was committed to creating and delivering an ambitious plan and we are proud to support them to ensure its residents in the Sout- East benefit from greener, affordable and fit-for-future homes.”