Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “The launch of England’s first National Housing Bank outlines a new way of working as we accelerate large-scale housebuilding and tackle the housing crisis.”
Now open for business, the bank will mobilize billions of pounds of much-needed private investment to build half a million new homes. This is one of many levers we are pulling to ensure we reach our 1.5 million target in this Parliament.
Pat Ritchie, Chairman of Homes England, said: “The opening of the National Housing Bank and the launch of the investment prospectus builds on Homes England’s expertise in providing a wide range of finance to partners and locations to unlock the delivery of new housing and mixed-use schemes.
“The National Housing Bank responds directly to calls from the housing sector, mayors and local leaders to increase the scale and flexibility of public and private finance available for housing and regeneration, to build the homes and communities our county needs.
“Our investment strategy puts this at the heart of how we invest, developing innovative tailored packages of support for the whole housing and regeneration system, bringing together grants, loans, equity, guarantees, land and expertise around local priorities.
Amy Rees CB, Chief Executive of Homes England, commented: “The launch of both the National Housing Bank and Homes England’s investment prospectus is a significant moment and marks an unprecedented scale of ambition and investment to deliver homes and regeneration across the country.
“The two institutions have up to £46bn of capital to deploy over the next decade, including £27bn of social and affordable housing grants, a £5bn share for land and infrastructure and up to £16bn of debt, equity and guarantees.
“The investment prospectus is clear about the challenges facing the housing system, including affordability, feasibility, stranded land, disrupted finance and delivery risks. Homes England and the National Housing Bank will step in where market failures exist and help unlock delivery at speed.
“Our message to partners and investors is simple: please get in touch and talk to us. We are open for business and committed to creating the right solution for any location or project.
Simon Century, chief executive of the National Housing Bank, said: “The National Housing Bank will support delivery at scale and act at speed, providing government-backed finance to de-risk projects and unlock delivery the market cannot transform alone.
“Our ambition and scale as a public finance institution creates the conditions to deliver long-term, stable investment, focus on delivery and confidence to investors while enabling more innovative, scalable delivery models.
“With delegated authority, we will make decisions quickly and proactively, acting as an enabler, not a barrier, to the market.
Peter Vernon, Chairman of the National Housing Bank, said: “The National Housing Bank builds on Homes England’s strong track record, including long-term investment in housing delivery and working in partnership with investors, developers and locations.
“Building on this strong foundation and deploying substantial new firepower and resiliency, the Bank will look to build deeper and broader partnerships across the region to accelerate delivery, as this significant investment on Day One clearly demonstrates.