Golden Lane Housing raises £10 million through Retail Charity Bond
The seventh Retail Charity Bond – and fourth this year – takes total raised to date by Allia’s platform to £157.5 million
The Retail Charity Bond for Golden Lane Housing was issued today, having raised £10 million. The Bond was launched on 1 November, and closed early on 3 November, after strong demand from investors.
The bonds will pay a fixed rate of interest of 3.9% a year for a term of ten years. The charity will borrow £10 million initially, and a further £8 million of ‘retained bonds’ will be created which can be sold and the extra money loaned to Golden Lane Housing at a later date.
The bond is the seventh to be issued through Allia’s Retail Charity Bonds platform since it was launched in 2014, taking the total raised through the platform to date to nearly £160 million. It is the second time that Allia has launched a bond for Golden Lane Housing, which was the first charity to raise funds through the platform back in 2014, with an £11 million bond. The proceeds of this bond will be used to further Golden Lane Housing’s charitable objectives, including to re-finance previous bonds and to buy and adapt much needed, high-quality housing across the country for people with a learning disability.
Golden Lane Housing was established by the Royal Mencap Society (Mencap) to provide quality homes to people with learning disabilities.
Jan Tregelles, chief executive of Mencap, commented:
“Most people with a learning disability want greater independence, to feel part of their community and have a say over the place they call ‘home.’ For too many this isn’t possible but the services offered from our housing arm, Golden Lane Housing, can transform the lives of people with a learning disability by buying and adapting quality, permanent homes in their communities.
“In a climate where social care support for people with a learning disability is facing growing uncertainty, the demand for innovative funding solutions has never been greater. We’re therefore delighted to see such strong support for Golden Lane Housing’s business case, that continues to find creative and innovative solutions to help address the housing crisis affecting people with a learning disability.”
Alastair Graham, Director of Golden Lane Housing said:
“The positive reception to our second Retail Charity Bond issue has been hugely important in that it both demonstrates the investor community’s support for our cause and it enables us to continue to address the enormous housing challenges faced by people with a learning disability and their families.”
Phil Caroe, Director of Social Finance for Allia said:
“The success of this latest Retail Charity Bond issue is a powerful endorsement from the market for Golden Lane Housing’s charitable business model and reaffirms the strength of demand for investments offering a positive social impact. With four successful Retail Charity Bond issues this year raising a total of £99.5 million, this means of raising funds is clearly a proven success in connecting charitable borrowers to mainstream investors and creating access to an attractive source of unsecured loan finance.”
Notes to Editors
About Retail Charity Bonds and Allia
Retail Charity Bonds is a platform that issues retail eligible bonds for UK charities. It was created by Allia, a social investment specialist that has been creating bonds for social benefit since its launch in 1999.
The Issuer, Retail Charity Bonds PLC, is a public limited company; it was established as a special purpose issuing vehicle but is not itself a charity. It is governed by an independent and experienced board of directors from the financial and charity sectors who are acting on a pro-bono basis. The administration of the Issuer and the origination of charitable borrowers is carried out by Allia Impact Finance Ltd, a subsidiary of Allia Ltd.
Other charities to have successfully raised finance through Retail Charity Bonds include Golden Lane Housing (the housing arm of Mencap), Charities Aid Foundation, Greensleeves Homes Trust and The Dolphin Square Charitable Foundation.
For more information go to impactfinance.allia.org.uk and www.retailcharitybonds.co.uk
@AlliaIF
