As one of London’s oldest not-for-profit housing providers, Peabody is investing for the long-term in homes and communities across London and the home counties. Drawing on more than 160 years of history, the Group has over 108,000 homes with around 220,000 residents. It also provides care and support services for around 17,500 customers.

With sustainability a top priority, Peabody was at the forefront of establishing the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing in 2020 alongside others. It’s also been awarded the Certified Sustainable Housing Label by German consultancy, RITTERWALD, three times.

Peabody published its Sustainable Finance Framework at the beginning of 2022. The housing association has a goal of being net zero in its day-to-day operations by 2030, and as a whole business by 2050. 78% of its homes are rated EPC C or above with a target of an average rating of B across all homes by 2050.

In 2023, Peabody spent £356 million on its existing homes, carrying out routine and cyclical maintenance alongside improvements to make them safer and more energy efficient. It also spent £567 million on much-needed new homes, making a positive difference to thousands of lives. Of these, 78% were affordable rent and shared ownership properties. The Group also invested £10 million in community activities, including giving £1.1 million directly to community members to start their own local initiatives.

NatWest supported Peabody in establishing its first Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme as sole arranger. The programme will underpin Peabody’s capital markets funding strategy and allow it to move quickly to take advantage of favourable market conditions when they arise.

Peabody’s existing crediting ratings of A3 (Moody’s) and A- (S&P) have been extended to the new programme.

The £1 billion EMTN programme will enable Peabody to more easily access funding to help maintain and improve residents’ homes, fund new affordable homes and support sustainable places. It follows the housing association’s £350 million debut sustainability bond issued in 2022, for which NatWest acted as Active Bookrunner, and Documentation and B&D bank. NatWest has also supported Peabody to establish its Sustainable Finance Framework and latterly on its allocation and impact reporting. 

NatWest has supported other housing associations to establish their EMTN Programmes over the past couple of years. Such programmes have become a popular way for housing associations to enhance their access to the debt capital markets by cutting down preparation time for future bonds. The EMTN programme covers the majority of the upfront work that would otherwise be required for each issuance. 

Anthony Marriott, Director of Treasury & Corporate Finance at Peabody, said: “The successful establishment of our new EMTN programme will play a key part in our Treasury Strategy for the coming years. The programme signals our intention to make significant investment in our residents’ homes, in our locally focused services and communities, and in new social and affordable homes where we can. We thank the NatWest team for their insights and guidance in establishing the programme.” 

Dominic Brindley, Head of Public Sector, Corporate Risk and Financing Solutions, NatWest, commented: “We’re delighted to have supported our longstanding customer, Peabody, as sole arranger in the establishment of their £1 billion EMTN programme. It will maximise Peabody’s funding agility and, most importantly, make it easier for our customer to continue to invest in essential improvements to existing homes, as well as much-need new homes. The programme reflects NatWest’s purpose-led strategy: to accelerate social value in areas where we can make a meaningful contribution as a bank.”

References

https://www.peabodygroup.org.uk/media/ltjnq4fo/peabody-annual-report-23.pdf