Aster Group Secures £250m Sustainability Bond Posted on: January 25th, 2021 Aster Group, who recently announced plans to invest over £2bn over the next seven years in new homes, has priced its first £250m sustainability bond with the funds going towards the development of new affordable housing. The firm – who’re speaking at our upcoming Devon Future Development Plans Event – own and manage more than 30,000 properties primarily across the South of England. This new programme fits into their plans to raise funds and it proved to be incredibly popular – being four times oversubscribed. Chris Benn, Group Finance Director at Aster Group, said: “Investors are increasingly seeking to fund businesses that operate in an ethical way and help to build a better society. This bond gives us further funding for our green affordable programme, so we can provide more of the homes required to meet the UK’s housing need – particularly in our south of England heartland, one of the most expensive housing markets in Britain. [emaillocker id=”71749”]“We’re very pleased to secure such competitive pricing and attract new investors to Aster to support our drive to be a more sustainable business. The bond proceeds complement our funding from other sources that together make up our diversified and prudent funding strategy.”Lloyds Bank and Barclays acted as bookrunners on the bond placement.Kirsty Garrett, Director at Lloyds Bank’s who were one of the bookrunners on the bond placement, said: “The Lloyds team was delighted to work with Aster to successfully issue its debut sustainability bond, off the newly established EMTN programme. The investor engagement throughout the roadshow and execution phase is a testament to the quality of the Aster management team.“The transaction welcomed a number of new investors, attracted by Aster’s credit strength and clear ESG focus at its core. The deal marks only the third ever Sustainability Bond issued by a housing association and paves the way for more to follow. With a diverse, growing investor base and its EMTN Programme, Aster is well-positioned to efficiently return to the bond markets in the future.”Register for the Devon Future Development Plans Event to hear more about Aster Group’s plans here: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/devon-development-plans/[/emaillocker]
