In a landmark move, and a first ever for the UK housing sector, Aviva Investors has agreed a £45 million deal to fund the transfer of 839 properties from Home Group to East Midlands housing provider Derwent Living.
An additional 296 Home Group properties are also being transferred to Derwent Living with the funding being provided by Clydesdale Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
The total funding for both of the deals amounts to £55 million for the transfer of 1135 social properties to the Derby-based provider from housing association Home Group which is rationalising stock outside its key area in the north east. The transfer will bring Derwent Living’s stock total to around 15,000 properties – making it one of the largest housing associations in the Midlands.
The funding was provided by the Aviva Investors REaLM Social Housing Fund which is part of the asset manager’s Return Enhancing and Liability Matching (REaLM®) strategy which aims to address the current underfunding issue being experienced by UK pension schemes by hedging against inflation risks and generating returns in excess of liabilities.
