Legal & General has announced that it has signed a £150m Social Loan whereby Use of Proceeds will finance 5,500 affordable homes across England.

As one of the Government’s strategic partners on the provision of affordable housing, LGAH’s mission is to significantly increase the supply, sustainability, and quality of affordable homes. The new loan will help accelerate the delivery of homes for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership across the country.

Chris Hewitt, Financial Director of Legal & General Affordable Homes, said: “Since launching four years ago, Legal & General Affordable Homes has deployed institutional capital to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes across the country. In the last few years, Legal & General has committed over £1bn of its own retirement funds to these efforts, and they will be used alongside this innovative social loan structure.”

The Social Loan, which is available on projects that help tackle pressing social issues such as the delivery of more affordable housing, is the first UK insurance syndicated Use of Proceeds social loan. BNP Paribas acted as Social Loan Co-ordinator, Joint Lead Arranger and Lender; HSBC UK as Facility and Security Agent, Joint Lead Arranger and Lender; and SMBC as Joint Lead Arranger and Lender, with each bank committing £50m.