Archives: Credential

What value did Centrus add?

Strategic treasury support and transaction leadership

• Centrus played a central role in supporting Home Group with the successful completion of £260m in new revolving credit facilities and the restructure of £415m of existing facilities. Our engagement began with a comprehensive review and refresh of Home Group’s treasury strategy, culminating in Board approval in November 2024.
• Drawing on our deep sector knowledge and real-time market intelligence, we supported the Executive and Board through a volatile environment — helping them balance risk, cost, and opportunity through a strategy grounded in robust analysis and aligned with long-term goals.
• Following this, Centrus worked closely with Home Group to execute the strategy, providing strategic advice, coordinating lender engagement, and leading negotiations with both existing and new lenders to ensure competitive tension and maximise value.
• The outcome saw facilities increase from three long-standing lenders – Lloyds, HSBC, and Nationwide – and the introduction of a new lender, Barclays.

How did this transaction benefit Home Group?

• This new funding significantly strengthens Home Group’s liquidity position, reinforcing its funding platform ahead of a future return to the capital markets. 
• The new RCFs deliver exceptionally strong commercial terms, with the overall cost of carry on new facilities among the lowest Centrus has seen in recent years.
• Financial covenants were harmonised across facilities, simplifying the position and unlocking additional financial capacity.

“We are very grateful for the support the Centrus team provided as we jointly developed and executed the latest iteration of our treasury strategy. We worked very collaboratively throughout, with the right levels of test and challenge and good humour on both sides which very much built on our existing partnership. Our strong relationships with our lender base and positive credit story together with Centrus’ extensive, current sector knowledge delivered a very positive outcome for us commercially and allowed us to standardise and simplify covenants. We have enjoyed working with the Centrus team on this refinancing and they have delivered significant value and assurance through their insight and engagement.”

Steve Hallowell, Director of Treasury and Investor Relations – Home Group

For more information, please contact Thomas Archer, Director, Housing, Education & Care or Lawrence Gill, Director, Housing, Education & Care.

Why does this transaction matter?

Optimising the treasury platform enables Hedyn to deliver more for customers & residents, utilising cost efficiencies and increased debt capacity for stock investment and the development of new homes.

What value did Centrus add?

• Sole financial advisor engaged to develop treasury strategy, construct combined business plan, lead on lender negotiations, provide assurance reporting to Board’s and project manage to completion deadline.
• Merger created an opportunity to renegotiate and restructure bank finance with significantly enhanced terms, reducing the weighted average margin and treasury risks while improving operational flexibility.
• Effective positioning of a strengthened credit risk profile enabled £60m of new funding to be arranged on highly attractive terms, bolstering liquidity to fund growth in the combined business plan.
• 100% value protected in existing capital markets facilities.
• Target financial covenant levels achieved with harmonised definitions, lowering covenant risk and increasing financial resilience by £25m p.a. on average over the next 5 years.
• Greater corporate freedoms around financial support and future merger consents negotiated, ensuring Hedyn is ready for the future.

“Centrus have provided us with a fantastic service throughout the merger process. The experience and professionalism of Paul and the team have been second to none. Together, we’ve maximised opportunities, and navigated complexities, to achieve this great result.

Thanks to the merger of Melin and Newport City Homes, we can create even greater capacity. And, through Hedyn, we can invest more to serve our customers and communities – and enable our colleagues to make a greater impact through the work they do.”

Gareth Yeoman-Evans, Executive Director of Finance and Resources – Hedyn

For more information, please contact Thomas Archer, Director, Housing, Education & Care or Paul Stevens, Executive Director, Housing, Education & Care.

Why does this transaction matter?

• Prior to the raise, Muir Group’s existing RCF had restrictive covenants and was nearing maturity.
• Centrus advised on addressing these risks by securing a new £40m RCF that enhanced covenants, strengthened liquidity and extended the facility term, all supporting Muir Group’s growth strategy while ensuring value for money.

What value did Centrus add?

Developed the treasury strategy: Centrus leveraged our market-leading sector insight to develop a treasury strategy which:

• Lowers refinancing risk and improves the debt maturity profile
• Reduces covenant risk
• Bolsters overall liquidity
• Strengthens overall hedging ratio

Arranging and executing funding:

• Centrus led a structured and competitive funding process that identified cost-effective and covenant supportive lenders, before recommending an option that aligned with Muir Group’s strategy.
• The documentation and execution process was managed by Centrus to close, with assurance reporting provided throughout.

“We are extremely pleased to have completed this RCF raise and are delighted to have had Centrus’ support and expertise throughout the process. The Muir Group team and board members have benefitted from the confidence and clarity provided by Centrus.”

Nia Hughes, Executive Director of Resources – Muir Group

For more information, please contact Lawrence Gill, Director, Housing, Education & Care or Mithun Kathirgamanathan, Assistant Director, Housing, Education & Care.

Transaction overview

Centrus advised Abri Group and Octavia Housing on the formation of their new partnership to become a 55,000 home organisation, increasing capacity by £200m p.a. and enhancing financial resilience. The engagement was delivered in a cost-effective manner, with focused lender negotiations protecting >95% of the value in existing bank facilities and forward consent achieved for Octavia Housing to fully combine with Abri Group in the future.

Why does this transaction/engagement make a difference?

• Delivered partnership in a cost-effective manner; focussed negotiations with lenders protected >95% of the value in existing bank facilities.
• Target financial covenant levels and definitions harmonisation achieved, resulting in substantial increase in capacity and financial resilience by £200m p.a. on average over the next decade, providing Abri with a stronger platform to build new homes and invest in existing ones.
• Greater corporate freedoms around financial support and merger consents were negotiated, including forward consent for Octavia Housing to fully combine with Abri Group in future.
• Arranged £175m of new RCFs with existing bank lenders at attractive pricing and suitable covenant packages, bolstering medium-term liquidity and materially reducing near-term refinancing risk.

What did Centrus do to make it happen and add value?

• Used our comprehensive knowledge of each lender gained through our unrivalled experience in housing association mergers, particularly concerning lender exposure limits, tenor appetite and preferred covenants, to negotiate a great economic outcome which represented value for money for the combined organisation. This also included successfully negotiating lender transaction fees down to reasonable levels.
• Provided detailed insight into potential treasury costs and benefits that could be incurred through the transaction, as well as a fair valuation of capital markets debt liabilities being transferred, that allowed Abri to construct a thorough and prudent financial plan for the combined organisation.
• Developed a detailed funding strategy for the combined organisation which deals with short-term refinancing requirements and provides a framework for meeting future funding needs. The strategy enables a significant reduction in treasury risks while providing flexibility over future funding sources and timing.

“Abri’s partnership with Octavia allows the combined organisation’s vision to be realised; a founding housing association committed to exemplary homes and services. It provides the combined organisation with the opportunity to accelerate Abri’s strategic intent, leveraging its growing influence and resilience to provide excellent homes and services to customers, and best-in-class employment for staff.

The Centrus team’s unwavering commitment and impressive performance played a pivotal role to enable the rescue and preservation of Octavia Hill’s housing management legacy, allowing the combined organisation to continue her work as a reformer and positive disruptor. A reimagined Octavia Foundation will be central to this, with a broader remit across community investment, education and research, and thought leadership.

Centrus’ expert advice and support during the analysis, negotiation and completion stages of our engagement with a diverse group of funders was invaluable. This engagement was a particular challenge given Octavia’s well reported regulatory issues at the time, however the team at Centrus, led by Lawrence Gill and Akhil Shah, delivered on key targets within challenging timelines.

The Centrus team provided real commercial insight and helped us make key decisions on structure and terms, supporting through complex negotiations. They were proactive and very responsive, and great to work with as always.”

Caroline Moore, Chief Financial Officer – Abri Group

For more information, please contact Lawrence Gill, Director, Housing, Education & Care – Centrus.