Social landlord believe housing has obtained a £90 million sustainability-linked funding package from NatWest, which will support plans to provide affordable homes across the North East of England.

Having recently delivered its 1,000th new build home, believe housing says it will use the funds to build further high-quality and energy efficient new homes by 2029 – a mix of property types and tenures made up of homes for social rent and affordable rent. They will also include affordable homeownership. Funding will additionally be used to deliver improvements to the housing association’s existing homes, including retrofitting properties with the aim of increasing their energy efficiency.

Faye Gordon, Executive Director of Finance and Investment at believe housing, said: “This is an important deal for believe housing, made possible by our proven track record as a sound business with strong sustainability commitments and a good relationship with the NatWest team.

“The increased funding, along with a three-year extension to our term, enables us to keep providing more of the homes our region needs.

“By working closely with partners and a local supply chain to deliver new homes, improve existing homes, and invest in services for our customers and communities, we will continue to support the people in our homes and boost the regional economy.”

NatWest has recently announced plans to provide a further £5bn in funding to support the social housing association sector by the end of 2026. It is hoped the funding will facilitate the delivery of a pipeline of housing across the UK including social housing projects which are vital to local communities.

Alan Newlands, Director of Housing Finance, Real Estate Finance at NatWest, said: “As one of the largest lenders to the Social Housing sector in the UK, NatWest is delighted to increase and extend our lending relationship with believe housing.  believe housing is dedicated to delivering outstanding housing which have a positive impact across communities. The management team are forward thinking in terms of the environment and net zero, and they are also committed to reaching key ESG targets which represent their business goals and values.”