Provider publishes finance framework setting out plans for spending

Platform Housing Group has doubled the size of a debt instrument in order to raise funds for affordable housing development and decarbonisation.

The 50,000-home housing association has increased the size of its Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme, rated A+ by S&P and Fitch, to £2bn.

Naseby Square- Market Harborough

Platform’s Naseby Square development in Market Harborough

EMTNs are a type of medium-term, flexible debt instrument which is offered continuously, unlike a bond which is issued all at once. Usually issued in countries that deal with euro currencies, EMTNs allow issuers to enter foreign markets to obtain capital.

At the same time as increasing the value of the EMTN programme, the Midlands-based provider has published a new ‘sustainable finance framework’.

The framework sets out how funding from the EMTN programme will be allocated, with money going to develop affordable housing across the Midlands, improve the energy efficiency of its existing homes and to decarbonise its fleet of vehicles used by its maintenance subsidiary.

Platform is funding much of its capital programme through debt capital markets, having issued a £250m bond last April. 

Rosemary Farrar, chief finance officer at Platform Housing Group said: “We are delighted to have increased the quantum of our EMTN programme, which will continue to play a key part in our Treasury Strategy for the coming years.  

“The programme signals that Platform is committed to fundraising from the capital markets and with our A+ ratings we remain a sound investment.  

>> Read more: Spending on existing stock up 141% at Platform Housing

“It will help us access the funding that we need to invest in our homes and our communities as we continue to help alleviate the Midlands housing shortage and provide enhanced life prospects for more people.”

Platform operates from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South.

In a recent trading update for the nine months to December 2024, the housing association reported a 141% increase in investment in its existing stock.

As well as the massive increase in spending on existing stock, the update showed healthy growth in turnover and surplus.

Turnover for the period came in at £285m, up 14% on the £249.9m recorded in the same period the previous year. Operating surpluses were also up, by 14.2% to £76.2m.