Macquarie AM invests €117m in social housing

Macquarie Asset Management, acting on behalf of its institutional clients, has provided a £100 mln (€117m) debt financing package to non-profit housing association Places for People.

Places for People

Places for People is one of the largest social housing providers in the UK, overseeing approximately 262,000 homes throughout England and Scotland. This portfolio includes about 78,000 regulated social and affordable homes, in addition to around 185,000 non-social housing assets such as market rent properties, leased homes, managed services, and purpose-built student accommodation.

The financing is structured as an eight-year unsecured private placement bond, issued under Places for People’s Euro Medium-Term Note Programme, with a single repayment at maturity. The funds from this bond issuance will be used for refinancing purposes, enhancing the group's balance sheet flexibility and extending its overall debt maturity profile.

Gareth Edwards, head of Secure Income EMEA at Macquarie Asset Management, said: “Places for People has deep expertise in social housing, a strong reputation in the sector, and close links with the communities it serves. In a volatile market environment, we were pleased to work closely with the team to deliver an expeditious refinancing solution, providing certainty and flexibility within their wider funding programme. This supports Places for People’s ability to continue investing in existing homes and to deliver more high‑quality, affordable housing over time, and we look forward to building on our relationship in the future.”

Baljit Singh, head of Treasury at Places for People, added: “We’d like to thank the wider Macquarie Asset Management team for their support throughout this process. In a challenging market, working with a new investor is crucial, allowing us to form partnerships that sustain our continued investment in communities. The funding further strengthens the resilience of our financing programme and reinforces our commitment to investing in our existing homes, enhancing services for our customers, and delivering much-needed, high-quality affordable housing across our communities.”