Archives: Credential

Transaction overview

Centrus was delighted to have advised Gentoo on the completion of a substantial debt package totaling £310m, bringing together new money, loan extensions and interest rate hedging across four lenders.

Gentoo secured £60m of new 10-year term debt from HSBC and Barclays, with Barclays joining Gentoo’s banking group for the first time. NatWest extended £200m of existing term debt facilities, adding longevity to a significant portion of the balance sheet. HSBC also extended a further £50m revolving credit facility, strengthening Gentoo’s liquidity position. Alongside the debt, Centrus structured a suite of loan-linked and unsecured ISDAs with ABN AMRO, NatWest and HSBC to manage interest rate risk across the portfolio.

What value did Centrus add?

The breadth of this transaction – spanning new term debt, loan extensions and hedging across four lenders simultaneously – required careful coordination and execution. Centrus managed the full process, including:

• Introducing Barclays as a new lender, broadening Gentoo’s banking group, and securing highly competitive margins on new term loans
• Negotiating the extension of NatWest’s £200m facilities and HSBC’s £50m RCF
• Securing improved terms on existing facilities including reduced margins and improved covenant levels, reducing cost of debt and providing greater headroom across the portfolio
• Structuring and executing a suite of loan-linked and unsecured ISDAs with three counterparties, and novating existing hedging with no additional fees

How did this transaction benefit Gentoo?

Gentoo’s ten-year corporate strategy set out an ambitious vision: to become the best provider of social homes in the country, investing £600m in existing homes, building more new social homes across Sunderland and the North-East than ever before, and helping communities to thrive.

Delivering that required a strong, diversified funding base. This transaction gave Gentoo exactly that – competitive new facilities from a broad group of lenders, improved covenant terms, and an interest rate hedging framework that could be used to protect the business as it executed its strategy.

“This was a significant re-financing project for us, bringing together new opportunities, facility extensions and introducing a comprehensive approach to interest rate risk management. Working in close partnership with Centrus made a real difference in delivering such a strong outcome. This project supports the next phase of our corporate strategy to provide the best possible service for our customers to help us toward our vision to become the best social housing provider in the country.”

Paul Wright, Executive Director of Finance – Gentoo

“This was an enjoyable transaction covering a lot of ground – new money, loan extensions, improved terms and getting the right hedging products to manage risk in a volatile rates environment. Gentoo approached it with real clarity on what they wanted to achieve, which made for a great outcome across the board.”

Tom Archer, Director – Centrus

We were delighted to have worked in partnership with Gentoo and Centrus to provide legal advice on all facets of the transaction. We deployed the substantial resources available to us, across multiple practice areas, to ensure we could meet the tight timelines imposed to optimise market conditions for Gentoo.

Gary Grigor, Partner – Devonshires

For more information, please get in touch with Tom Archer, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

Transaction overview

Centrus was delighted to have advised Bernicia on the successful completion of a £100m loan provided by Barclays. The facility was structured across two tranches, a 7-year and a 10-year, delivering highly competitive pricing for both tenors, among the best rates Centrus had seen for these tenors.

Centrus ran a comprehensive competitive process, attracting a strong appetite from multiple banks. Barclays emerged as the strongest option, offering the most compelling overall package for Bernicia.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus managed the funding process from initial engagement through to completion. Key elements included:

• Supporting Bernicia’s board and finance team throughout, ensuring robust governance and clear communication at every stage
• Running a competitive market process that tested appetite across multiple lenders, ensuring Bernicia secured optimal pricing and terms
• Advising on loan structure to balance cost, flexibility and duration in line with Bernicia’s treasury strategy
• Working closely with Barclays to originate and execute an LL-ISDA

How did this transaction benefit Bernicia?

This funding supported the delivery of Bernicia’s newly launched five-year corporate strategy, ‘The Bernicia Effect, Supporting Opportunity (2026–2031)’. In this strategy, Bernicia – who owned and managed over 14,000 homes across the North East – had set out plans to invest £400m in homes, services and communities over the next five years.

The £100m Barclays facility helped fund that programme, which included £150m to build 1,000 new homes, £121m to improve existing homes (including a focus on energy efficiency) and £115m for day-to-day maintenance.

 “Well-structured, competitively priced debt is central to realising our corporate ambitions, and Centrus delivered exactly that – running an excellent process that secured us highly competitive terms from a strong field of lenders. Barclays offered the best overall package and we’re delighted to be extending our relationship with them.”

Janette Longstaff, Executive Director of Finance – Bernicia

“Bernicia is a fantastic organisation to work with and this is a great outcome: well-structured loan and hedging facilities, at highly competitive pricing. We’re delighted to be supporting Bernicia as they look to deliver on an ambitious and important strategy for the North-East.”

Tom Archer, Director – Centrus

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

Transaction overview

Centrus Advisors, acting as treasury advisors, Anthony Collins Solicitors, as legal counsel, together with lending partners NatWest and Nationwide Building Society, are pleased to announce the successful completion of a comprehensive restructure of Calico Homes’ £149.5m bank debt portfolio.

The transaction involved the renegotiation and restatement of Calico’s existing facilities with both NatWest and Nationwide, delivering material improvements in pricing, covenant terms, and portfolio longevity, providing the organisation with significant additional capacity to invest in homes and services for its residents across Burnley and the surrounding areas.

How did this transaction benefit Calico Homes?

Significant Interest Savings: The restructure delivers annual interest savings of up to £564k, meaningfully reducing Calico’s cost of debt and freeing resources for reinvestment in its core social purpose.

Extended Portfolio Longevity: The weighted average life of the bank portfolio has been extended from 7 to 11 years, providing Calico with a longer-dated, more resilient funding platform and reducing near-term refinancing risk.

Covenant Reform and Enhanced Debt Capacity: Alignment of Calico’s gearing covenants has increased Calico’s available debt capacity by approximately 70%  — providing materially greater financial headroom to support the delivery of new and improved homes.

Hedging Restructure: The transaction also saw the implementation of Calico’s first loan linked ISDA put in place with NatWest. A loan-linked ISDA structure was adopted to maximise flexibility and to enable the reinvestment of restructure break gains to minimise the impact of Calico fixed rates. 

Centrus provided a fully integrated advisory service throughout the engagement, from the initial lender engagement strategy through to execution and documentation review. Centrus ran a competitive and structured process with both lenders, negotiating improvements across all key areas of the financing, and supported Calico’s Board and executive team throughout with regular briefings and governance support, including ISDA hedging training.

Anthony Collins Solicitors provided comprehensive legal counsel across both facility restatements, advising on all documentation and supporting the smooth completion of the transaction.  

“This is an excellent outcome for Calico and reflects the strength of the organisation’s relationships with its banking partners and its clear strategic direction. By running a structured and competitive engagement process, we were able to secure material improvements across every key metric – pricing, covenants, longevity and hedging structure. The aligning of gearing covenants  in particular is a transformational change, which alongside the material interest savings helps unlock additional capacity that Calico can deploy to continue delivering for its residents. We are proud to have supported the team at Calico through what was a complex and multi-faceted transaction.”

Tom Miller, Director – Centrus

“This restructure is an outstanding outcome for Calico and represents a significant step forward in strengthening our long-term financial resilience. The annual interest savings and materially enhanced debt capacity provide us with real additional firepower to invest in new and improved homes and services for our residents across Burnley and Lancashire – which is ultimately what drives everything we do. The support and advice we received from Centrus and Anthony Collins throughout the process was instrumental in achieving this result. They guided us through a complex, multi-faceted transaction with real clarity and ensured our Board were fully engaged and brought along on the journey at every stage, including through some technically challenging areas such as hedging strategy. We are also grateful to NatWest and Nationwide for their continued partnership and commitment to supporting Calico’s ambitions.”

Chloe Christian, Executive Director of Finance – Calico Homes

“These restatements are a fantastic result for Calico and a major step in strengthening their  long‑term financial position with their existing funders and we are delighted to play our part in advising Calico alongside Centrus in securing this restructuring which allows Calico to invest even more in new and better homes and provide the required services for its residents, which is what drives us every day.”

Adriana Klincova, Legal Director – Anthony Collins Solicitors

“I am delighted to have worked with Calico Homes and Centrus to achieve this result. NatWest has a longstanding successful relationship with Calico and a collaborative approach to reach a solution for all parties is testament to that.
NatWest’s ongoing support will enable Calico to continue its long track record of serving the Burnley community and enable them to meet the essential requirement of developing new warm, safe and affordable homes.”

Martin Skinner, Relationship Director, Social Housing – NatWest

“Nationwide is pleased to have supported Calico Homes on this important restructuring, which strengthens the organisation’s long-term financial resilience and provides greater capacity to invest in homes and services for its communities.
We are proud to be a long-standing funding partner to Calico, having supported the organisation since its inception in 2000. This enduring relationship reflects our continued commitment to the social housing sector and to working collaboratively with our borrowers to deliver sustainable, long-term outcomes.
This transaction demonstrates the value of strong partnerships in achieving financing solutions that enhance flexibility, improve efficiency and position organisations like Calico to continue delivering for their residents.”

Steve Goodyer, Senior Relationship Manager – Nationwide Building Society

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

Transaction overview

Centrus, acting as treasury advisors and debt arrangers, and Bevan Brittan, as legal counsel, are delighted to have supported the recent completion of a £150m new financing for Magna Housing, a 9,000-home landlord in South West England.

The strategic refinancing, comprising £80 million in revolving credit facilities and £70 million in term debt facilities provided by Nationwide, Barclays and AIB, was executed on a highly competitive and flexible basis, with funds supporting Magna’s ambitious development programme over the next 5 years.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus provided a fully integrated advisory service, from shaping a robust treasury strategy through to supporting the execution and completion of all documentation. Centrus also managed a comprehensive competitive process and ensured Magna’s board was regularly briefed and fully engaged in the process at all times, supporting a seamless governance process.

Drawing on our market-leading experience and deep lender relationships, Centrus delivered a highly competitive fundraising outcome, securing optimal terms for Magna. The engagement included proactive negotiations to enhance key provisions, ensuring the final treasury solution aligned seamlessly with Magna’s objectives and maximised financial flexibility and resilience to support future growth and investment

How did this transaction benefit Magna Homes?

• Favourable Covenants: Maintaining Magna’s favourable covenant definitions to maximise flexibility and headroom within the business plan.
• Flexible Drawing: Blended RCF and term debt with a 24‑month availability window, ensuring drawing flexibility and reducing cost‑of‑carry amid changeable development spending.
• Balance of Tenor and Cost: Weighted average life of bank debt maintained at 6 years, whilst securing a 19bps reduction of Magna’s bank portfolio weighted average margin. Chosen tenors reflected competitive offers and Magna’s existing long dated positions, ensuring amortisation of the portfolio is comfortably spread.
• Embedded Hedging Optionality: The outcome ensures that embedded hedging options were retained, providing low complexity and flexibility.

The housing finance team at Bevan Brittan, including Louise Leaver, Anna Clark, Louise Mookerjee, Weronika Ziecina and Jessica Church, advised Magna on the restatement of one facility and the negotiation of two new facilities, including related security documentation and accession to existing security trust arrangements. Bevan Brittan provided a holistic service, from reporting on term sheets, through to reviewing and negotiating suites of loan documentation for each of the three lenders concurrently, reporting comprehensively to both the board and the finance team.  The banking and charging teams worked closely with Centrus and the Magna team, offering a truly cohesive one-team approach to ensure a smooth and timely completion.   

“We’re delighted to have secured new funding to enable Magna to continue to deliver more affordable homes in line with our strategy. The support from Centrus and Bevan Brittan not only ensured appropriate governance but most importantly achieved best value, allowing us to keep more cash to invest in new homes, sealing a great job done by all.” 

Ian White, Head of Finance – Magna Homes

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Magna and Centrus on this important funding update which will enable Magna to support their strategic plans going forward.”

Louise Leaver, Head of Housing Finance – Bevan Brittan

“We are delighted to have supported Magna in their latest fundraising process, which resulted in a highly competitive outcome that will support delivery of much needed new homes.”

Tom Miller, Director – Centrus

For more information, please get in touch with Tom Miller, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

Transaction overview

Two Rivers Housing have completed a refinancing that restructured £110m of existing loans and added a further £30m of new funding.

The transaction comprised £90m of term debt from Santander and a £50m RCF from Barclays. The new facilities replace legacy arrangements, improving pricing and flexibility, and better aligning with Two Rivers’ long‑term strategy.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus provided end‑to‑end funding advice, leading the design, negotiation and execution of the transaction. Centrus:

• Leveraged detailed market insight to set clear pricing and covenant targets and hold lenders to them through the process.
• Led lender engagement and negotiations, delivering best‑in‑class pricing and terms, in several areas exceeding original targets.
• Secured widespread covenant improvements, including enhanced interest cover and gearing covenants.
• Achieved reduced margins and improved commercial terms versus the legacy loan portfolio.
• Managed execution through a volatile interest rate environment following the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, ensuring robust decision‑making and governance throughout the process.

How did this transaction benefit Two Rivers Housing?

The transaction significantly strengthened Two Rivers’ financial position and long‑term capacity to invest. Key benefits included:

• Widespread covenant improvements, including improved ICR and gearing headroom.
• Extended loan and hedging duration, and an additional £30m of new funding.
• Reduced margins and enhanced value for money.
• A robust funding platform to support ongoing investment in existing homes and new affordable housing.

“Centrus provided clear, expert advice throughout the refinancing, combining strong market insight with disciplined execution. They helped us secure highly competitive funding terms and supported robust governance and decision‑making around hedging during a period of heightened interest rate volatility. The new facilities give us greater flexibility and value for money, enabling continued investment in our homes and communities.”

Carol Dover, Deputy Chief Executive – Two Rivers Housing

“This transaction strengthens Two Rivers’ funding platform through competitive terms, improved flexibility and disciplined execution in a volatile market environment. It has been a pleasure to work with the Two Rivers’ team throughout this enjoyable process.”

Tom Archer, Director – Centrus

For more information, please get in touch with Tom Archer, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus secured a £30m funding package aligned with CHS’s 2024–27 strategy, supporting continued investment in long-term, safe and secure homes. As part of the process, we introduced a new, values-aligned lender, Unity Trust Bank, matching long-term capital with CHS’s local, mission-led social purpose. Centrus also led the commercial negotiations and fixed-rate execution, ensuring the new facility complements CHS’s existing funding portfolio and delivers long-term value for money.

How did this transaction benefit CHS?

• The funding provides the financial capacity to deliver the Group’s 2024–27 investment plans, including high‑quality homes, core services and local partnerships.
• A clearly defined funding structure allocates £27m to core investment, with a £3m retrofit tranche to support progress on energy efficiency and affordable warmth objectives.
• The facility uses a simple, fixed-rate structure, offering a straightforward approach to managing interest-rate risk in line with CHS’s risk appetite.
• The long-dated tenor strengthens financial resilience and supports asset planning and delivery of a long-term, viable business plan.
• The facility was documented and drawn within approximately two months, enabling timely access to funding and maintaining delivery momentum.
• By including a new lender, CHS has broadened its funding group and positioned its treasury to better support business growth.
  
  

“Centrus worked closely with us to secure long-term, good-value funding that supports CHS’s priorities for 2024–27. The £30m facility from Unity gives us the confidence to keep investing in safe, secure and affordable homes across Cambridgeshire, while also improving energy efficiency and the core services our tenants care value most.”

Jonathan Birkert, Director of Finance – CHS Group

“CHS had a clear sense of what they wanted to achieve, and our role was to translate that into a funding solution that genuinely supports their long‑term priorities. Working with Unity Trust Bank, we were able to deliver a structure that aligns with CHS’s values and strengthens their funding position for the years ahead.”

Richard Conway, Director – Centrus

For more information, please get in touch with Richard Conway, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

What value did Centrus add?

Centrus worked with Cottsway to develop its treasury and funding strategy and designed a competitive process to secure new funding. Centrus led lender engagement and negotiations, securing competitive pricing and strong lending terms, and managed the lender credit processes and approvals. Throughout the transaction, Centrus kept the Board informed and project-managed the transaction through to completion.

How did this transaction benefit Cottsway?

•  New £50m term loan to develop new homes.
• 10-year maturity, complementing wider portfolio duration.
• Highly competitive pricing achieved, translating Cottsway’s strong credit profile into tangible value for money.
• Well-governed funding process, giving the Board confidence in both the process and the results.

“This new loan will help Cottsway to deliver 833 new homes, as outlined in our 2023-2028 Corporate Plan. We are delighted to be working with Nationwide, a new funder for Cottsway and one that is aligned to our social purpose. Tom and the team at Centrus provided excellent, in-depth support to us, from initial funder engagement all the way through to completion.”

Tessa Rollings, Resources Director – Cottsway

“We really enjoyed working with Cottsway on this fundraiser. By keeping the process straightforward and competitive, we turned a strong credit story into excellent pricing and a long-term funding solution that supports their ambitions.”

Tom Archer, Director – Centrus

“We are delighted to welcome Cottsway as a new customer and look forward to growing our relationship as they strive to achieve their goals over the coming years. Their ambition to provide more and better homes is closely aligned with our own social objective of being a beacon for mutual good.”

Clive Williams, Senior Lending Managed – Nationwide

“It was a pleasure working with the teams at Cottsway and Centrus on this new funding arrangement and to help contribute towards Cottsway delivering a number of new homes across West Oxfordshire.”

Julian Barker, Partner – Devonshires

For more information, please get in touch with Tom Archer, Director of Housing, Education & Care.

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.