New loan helps Welsh housing association deliver affordable homes
6 July 2020
CAF Bank has provided its first loan to a housing association in Wales as part of plans by the Welsh Government to build thousands of new homes.
The loan will be used by Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association to develop 43 affordable homes for local residents in the Welsh town. The development is situated on the former Merthyr Vale Colliery site between Merthyr Vale and Aberfan.
CAF Bank offers simple and straightforward day-to-day banking designed exclusively for charities. It focusses its lending on support for social and affordable housing schemes whenever possible. The Bank is owned and operated by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), a charity and champion for better giving which for over 90 years has helped donors, companies, charities and social organisations make a bigger impact.
Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association was established in 1977 and is a traditional community-based organisation which has developed a number of landmark schemes and helped preserve historic buildings. They provide general needs homes, a sheltered housing scheme, a hostel, a small number of special needs accommodation units and market rental properties. The new development in Merthyr Tydfil is part of a commitment by the Welsh Government to help deliver 20,000 new affordable homes by 2021.
“We met Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association after an introductory day in Cardiff organised by the Welsh Government.”
“It quickly became apparent that our joint values, workable long-term funding and good pricing was an excellent fit for both organisations. We are very pleased to have been involved in helping Merthyr Tydfil to deliver more affordable homes for their community.”
Karen Courts, Chief Executive at Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association, said:
“We are delighted to have secured £3m loan finance with CAF Bank. From our first meeting it was clear that both of our organisations shared the same values and commitment to build new quality affordable homes. The 43 new homes will be funded by a mixture of private finance and social housing grant from the Welsh Government.”