The Church of England Pensions Board (CEPB) is a registered charity which offers retirement services to those who serve or work for the Church of England.  

They manage pension schemes for 43,000 people across 700 Church organisations and provide retirement housing for clergy. The CEPB currently has about 1,200 homes available at reduced rents for retired clergy and is looking to acquire more houses to meet future demand.

When a debt facility from another bank came up for refinancing, CEPB approached NatWest to discuss what we could offer them. The NatWest team worked closely with CEPB to fully understand their plans for expanding their housing stock and improving the EPC ratings of their residential portfolio. As a result of these discussions, a £50 million Revolving Credit Facility was structured.

Tom England, Director of Housing, CEPB, commented: “Retirement poses unique and significant housing challenges for our clergy. We are there to help with the offer of affordable retirement housing alongside support to ensure a smooth and easy transition from active ministry to retirement. We thank the NatWest team for working with us on this new facility to help us deliver on our mission.” 

Chris Rees from NatWest’s UK Financing Solutions team said: “We are delighted to assist CEPB in expanding and enhancing the energy efficiency of their retirement housing portfolio through this £50 million RCF. This transaction exemplifies how various specialist teams within NatWest collaborate closely to achieve the best outcomes for our clients. We welcome CEPB as a new customer, and look forward to developing this relationship and supporting them further in future.”