BlackRock Real Assets has made its second investment in the UK social housing sector this year, closing a £100 million (€114.5 million) debt investment providing financing for Wheatley Housing Group in Scotland.
Wheatley, Scotland’s largest housing, care and property-management group, owns or manages 83,000 homes, the majority for social rent, and provides services to 200,000 people.
The debt financing will in part be used to develop approximately 3,500 new social and mid-market rented homes in Scotland.
Jonathan Stevens, head of European infrastructure debt at BlackRock, said: “The provision of social housing is an essential service, and housing in Scotland and the rest of the UK is in short supply.
“We hope our investment makes a genuine contribution towards addressing this issue, while also providing our clients with an inherently stable, long-term cash generating asset.”
In January, BlackRock Real Assets also closed a debt investment providing long-term financing to Trafford Housing Trust, a Manchester-based UK Housing Association.
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