Aviva Investors completes £75 million financing deal with settle

24 August 2020 3 minute read

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), announces that it has completed a £75 million Private Placement on behalf of the Aviva UK Life annuity business with settle, the not-for-profit housing association which manages over 9,000 properties across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

It is the second Private Placement that Aviva Investors has made into the social housing sector in the past month, having entered into a £60 million, 30-year financing agreement with South Wales-based Coastal Housing Group in July.

Spanning 30 years and including deferred funding tranches at 12 and 24 months, the facility will help settle in advancing its environmental, social and governance agenda, including the commitment for all properties to meet ‘EPC C’ standards or better by 2025. The financing will also help the Group meet its 2024 goal of at least 1,500 new homes, including a targeted focus on shared ownership to meet the current supply shortage of affordable homes in the region. It also continues Aviva Investors’ focus on generating long income exposure, which provides cashflows to back the liabilities commitments of its institutional client base.

Munawer Shafi, Head of Structured and Private Debt at Aviva Investors, said:

“We are very happy to have completed this deal with settle and further our investment in the UK’s social housing programme, at a time when the provision of such schemes is increasingly important for at-risk income groups across the country. The quasi-sovereign nature of social housing makes it an attractive defensive sector in the current environment, particularly when it comes to proven operators such as settle, which we expect to deliver strong long-term performance within the overall portfolio.”

Ashish Dafria, Chief Investment Officer, Aviva UK Life, said: 

“We are pleased to support settle’s ambition to increase the supply of affordable homes in their regions of focus. Coupled with this, settle’s community work and its commitment to continue to invest to ensure safe and energy efficient homes also supports our desire for investment opportunities that seek to address key sustainability and ESG criteria.”

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