GLA loans private developer £50m to build quicker

London mayor Sadiq Khan has agreed to loan private developer Mount Anvil £50m to enable it to purchase more sites and build more homes in the first agreement of its kind.

The £50m Greater London Authority loan is designed to allow London developer Mount Anvil to accelerate build out of the next 2,000 homes in its pipeline, and speed up land purchases so it can build 10,000 in total by 2030.

The GLA said that at least 50% of the homes will be “genuinely affordable” for Londoners.

As well as affordable housing, Mount Anvil has had to sign up to commitments regarding equality and diversity and design – including to never build separate entrances to segregate tenants in social properties from their private neighbours, known as “poor doors”.

The GLA said the loan facility will be on commercial terms, drawn down in stages starting in June 2020 and repaid on a project by project basis following sales completions, and expected to be fully repaid by 28 February 2030. It said the deal could form a model for future funding agreements with GLA Land and Property.

The GLA’s deputy mayor for housing, Tom Copley said: “Funding arrangements such as this will ensure that our private sector partners can accelerate their plans for the next decade and, crucially, increase delivery of much needed affordable homes.”

The news comes after Copley (pictured, right) last week told Housing Today that the GLA was considering paying developers and housing associations to convert homes for sale into affordable housing in the event of a post-lockdown housing market downturn. Copley has convened a taskforce to find a way forward for the housing development industry post lockdown, with findings due to report in the next couple of weeks.

Marcus Bate, investment director for Mount Anvil said he was “thrilled” to be working with GLA Land and Property. He said: “We’re looking forward to playing our part in supporting London’s bounce back post-Covid 19, working in partnership with the GLA, local authorities and our housing association partners to deliver a positive legacy for London.”