Archives: Credential

Centrus, acting as Treasury Advisors and debt arrangers, and Bevan Brittan, as Legal Counsel, are delighted to have supported on the recently announced successful completion of a landmark £215 million refinancing for ForHousing, a leading 19,000 home landlord in North West England. The strategic refinancing, comprising £75 million in revolving credit facilities and £140 million in term debt facilities provided by NatWest and Barclays, also includes covenant updates to provide additional financial capacity enabling ForHousing to increase investment in existing homes, as well as the delivery of 1,100 new social rent homes over the next five years.

What value did Centrus add and key benefits of the transaction?

• Enhanced Financial Capacity: Renegotiation of loan covenants, including the full removal of EBITDA MRI ICR, has boosted ForHousing’s long-term financial strength
• New Funding: New net funding of £55 million, alongside right-sizing of RCFs, will supportthe delivery of required Capex in the most cost-effective manner
• Extended Portfolio Life: Weighted average life of debt extended from 13 to 20 years, with only a marginal impact of ForHousing’s WACC
• Innovative Hedging: Implementation of a flexible hedging strategy, including ForHousing’s first standalone and loan-linked ISDA’s
• Market-Leading Funding: Secured funding from NatWest’s low margin Social Housing Fund—one of the first transactions to complete under this fund.

Centrus delivered a complete end-to-end advisory service, beginning with the design of a robust treasury strategy underpinned by detailed business planning and comprehensive stress testing, we ensured ForHousing were empowered to make the best decisions possible. Leveraging our market-leading insight and deep lender relationships, we led a highly competitive fundraising process that secured optimal terms for ForHousing, whilst our proactive approach ensured the restructured treasury position is fully aligned with ForHousing’s business strategy, maximising financial flexibility and resilience to support future growth and investment.

The housing finance team at Bevan Brittan, including Louise Leaver, Anna Clark, Louise Mookerjee, Jessica Church and Weronika Ziecina, advised ForHousing on the restatement of two facilities and the negotiation of the new social loan, as well as two new ISDAs and advice regarding refinancing mechanics, from Heads of Terms stage through to completion, to a tight timescale. The team at Bevan Brittan has been at the forefront in advising RPs on new debt products entering the market to accelerate the provision of new social housing, as well as the improvement of existing homes.

“Centrus and Bevan Brittan delivered a highly professional service, supporting the Executive Team and Board throughout every stage of the process, adding tangible value to our organisation. The transaction gives us the capacity to invest more in our existing homes and deliver 1,100 new homes over the next four years. It will ensure the continued delivery of the ForHousing Strategy, which has been created with tenants and stakeholders to ensure we are investing where it matters to our communities the most – and support our mission to provide safe, well-maintained homes and deliver customer-focused, equitable and efficient services.”

Mark Bradshaw, Executive Director of Finance – ForHousing

“The housing finance team at Bevan Brittan, including Louise Leaver, Anna Clark, Louise Mookerjee, Jessica Church and Weronika Ziecina, advised ForHousing on the restatement of two facilities and the negotiation of the new social loan, as well as two new ISDAs and advice regarding refinancing mechanics, from Heads of Terms stage through to completion, to a tight timescale. The team at Bevan Brittan has been at the forefront in advising RPs on new debt products entering the market to accelerate the provision of new social housing as well as the improvement of existing homes.”

Tom Miller, Director – Centrus

“We were delighted to work with Centrus to support ForHousing with their most recent refinancing and to work on one of the first transactions under the NatWest social housing fund.”

Louise Leaver, Partner and Head of Housing Finance – Bevan Brittan

For more information, please contact Tom Miller, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus developed a treasury strategy for Brunelcare’s Board that clearly identified funding and liquidity requirements and set out the optimal route to support its investment and redevelopment programme. Centrus introduced CAF Bank as a socially aligned and competitively priced lender, leading the assessment and negotiation process to ensure the facility matched Brunelcare’s strategic and financial priorities. Centrus supported the coordination of Brunelcare, CAF Bank and advisers throughout credit approval and documentation, ensuring an efficient and well-managed transaction.

How did this transaction benefit Brunelcare?

£10 million term loan at competitive pricing, providing the financial capacity needed to progress Brunelcare’s strategic housing investment and redevelopment plans.

Flexible structure that met the requirements of Brunelcare

• Availability period of 60 months allowing staged drawdowns as funding is needed
• Hedging flexibility and long-dated tenor supporting financial resilience and long-term asset strategy
• Attractive covenant package and security flexibility, ensuring alignment with Brunelcare’s treasury policy and maintaining headroom for future activity

Strengthened liquidity to manage redevelopment phasing and construction timelines.

Partnership with a socially aligned lender, with CAF Bank’s charitable ethos closely matching Brunelcare’s mission and values.

“Centrus’ expert guidance and engagement support delivered a flexible funding solution tailored to our funding requirement and wider business needs. Their advice ensured we secured competitive terms and the financial capacity we need to upgrade existing homes and progress our new housing programme.”

Claire Martin, Head of Finance: LTFP and Treasury – Brunelcare

For more information, please get in touch with Richard Conway Assistant Director or Usama Shoaib, Senior Associate, all of Housing, Education & Care.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus leveraged its comprehensive knowledge of each lender and the market to achieve outstanding negotiated outcomes, protecting the full value of the bank loan portfolio, increasing covenant capacity by £70m per year, and aligning covenants and controls.

Developed funding and hedging strategies that supported the client in achieving their goals, provided clarity, and simplified complex transactions. Execution of complex derivatives transactions, sale of retained bonds, and bank loans via two new funder relationships.

Strong project management skills enabled Centrus to effectively coordinate multiple stakeholders across various workstreams. Ensured that all approvals, negotiations, and transactions were completed within demanding timelines.

How did this transaction benefit SettleParadigm?

Value protection – successful merger negotiations, secured consent from over 9 funders and protected £7m of the loan portfolio’s value.

Covenants improved – covenants largely harmonised with £70m increase in annual capacity.

Existing and new funding – a £2bn loan is being restructured, along with new funding comprising £300m of new bank loans and a £150m retained bond sale.

Hedging – 4 new ISDAs with £150m of forward starting interest rate swaps and £150m gilt lock to provide interest rate certainty.

Liquidity – managed the £300m liquidity requirements of a large stock acquisition through an innovative ‘commitment letter + bridge-to-bond’ approach – saving SettleParadigm £300k in fees.

“It was a pleasure to work alongside Natalie Singh and her talented team on this highly complex transaction. By bringing together multidisciplinary expertise and maintaining disciplined project management throughout, we were able to navigate challenging and intricate negotiations and deliver an excellent outcome for our client. We were able to protect significant debt portfolio value and put in place robust treasury risk management solutions, providing SettleParadigm with a strong foundation to achieve its corporate objectives and deliver real benefits for customers. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved collectively.”

Lawrence Gill, Director, Housing, Education & Care – Centrus

“Centrus’ commercial insight and disciplined project management helped to deliver the merger within a demanding timeline.  Their advice helped us overcome challenges that were faced, creating real and lasting value for our organisation. Centrus’ expertise and guidance throughout the analysis, negotiation, and completion of the merger were invaluable. Their strategic advice helped SettleParadigm achieve the desired outcome and protect value in complex negotiations. The Centrus team helped us manage a highly complex, multi-stakeholder process, coordinating with numerous funders and advisers to maintain momentum and alignment at every stage. Their insight into innovative financial solutions, such as gilt-locks and forward-starting swaps added value to project.”

Nicola Ewen, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive – SettleParadigm

For more information, please get in touch with Lawrence Gill, Director, Akhil Shah, Assistant Director or Usama Shoaib, Senior Associate, all of Housing, Education & Care.

What value did Centrus add?

• Proactive identification of opportunities to enhance Broadacres Housing Association’s existing portfolio
• Development of a clear, effective strategy to deliver, reflecting Broadacres’ specific credit narrative
• Project management of the process, protecting management time whilst delivering in less than 3 months
• Effective benchmarking from our extensive market data points, maximising outcomes and providing assurance on value for money
• Supported Broadacres’ implementation of their first Loan Linked ISDA, including training of Executive and Board teams on its impact and benefits

How did this transaction benefit Broadacres?

The banking restructure provided material benefits, including:

• Reduction in margins saving Broadacres £328k p.a.
• Inclusion of ESG discount capability, offering potential further annual savings of £43k p.a.
• Implementation of a loan-linked ISDA, Broadacres first,  ensuring a flexible hedging strategy
• Boost in portfolio weighted average life from 9 years to 10 years
• Covenant updates boosting debt capacity by 27%

£20m in new funding was arranged on highly competitive terms, including accessing NatWest’s Social Loan. The transaction reduces costs, risks, and improves flexibility and liquidity.

“We are absolutely delighted with the restructure, which has improved our treasury cost efficiency, covenant headroom, and liquidity ensuring we are in an excellent position moving forward. Centrus have been a fantastic partner to work with throughout the process and the results speak for themselves, delivering excellent value for money. Centrus’ proactivity and experience in these transactions , alongside their clear and regular engagement was a vital part of delivering the transaction to a tight timeline and providing comfort to the Board that the best possible outcome had been delivered.”

Andrew McColl, Director of Resources – Broadacres Housing Association

For more information, please contact Tom Miller, Director, Housing, Education & Care

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus formulated a treasury strategy for CCHA’s board to identify key funding requirements and led a competitive fundraising process, utilising market-leading insights to obtain cost-effective and covenant-supportive options, before recommending an option that aligned with CCHA’s goals.

A competitive fundraising process was structured by Centrus to enable the delivery of optimal results on key commercial terms and negotiated successfully with the chosen lenders to achieve a meaningful interest margin discount on already competitive terms.

Centrus complete project management helped deliver the project within just 14 weeks, allowing CCHA’s to achieve their targeted governance process.

How did this transaction benefit Castles & Coasts?

£30 million in term loans and a £40 million RCF will support medium-term investment in building new homes and improving current homes. Very competitive pricing achieved, resulting in £1.8 million in interest savings compared to plan assumptions and £44,000 per year savings compared to existing RCFs.

Financial, security, and key corporate covenants optimised

• Improved covenant position – enhancement of 20% for ICR  and 18% for gearing

Appropriate structuring to manage treasury risk effectively

• Significantly reduced refinancing risk by increasing bank WAL from 2 years to 6 years
• Included a 1-year availability period on term debt, providing flexibility on spend timing while minimising the cost of carry
• Enabled CCHA to execute additional embedded hedging through its term loan agreement to avoid the risk of margin calls and the impact of mark-to-market on its financial statement

“We were delighted to work with Centrus on a £30m term loan and £40m RCF to support our medium-term investment plans. Their expert advice, market insight and flexible approach helped us meet a challenging deadline and achieve excellent value for money. The team’s professionalism and attention to detail ensured an optimal outcome, strengthening our treasury position and supporting our future development plans. They provide an exceptional service – always a pleasure to work with and consistently deliver outstanding results.”

Jamie Wright, Acting Finance Director – Castles & Coasts Housing Association

For more information, please contact Tom Miller, Director, Housing, Education & Care