Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme

Background to the scheme

In the Autumn Budget 2017 the then Chancellor announced that Government would explore options with industry to create £8bn worth of new guarantees to support housebuilding, including SMEs and purpose-built rented housing. This followed the success of the Government’s two prior housing guarantee schemes: the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme (“AHGS 2013”), and the PRS Guarantee Scheme, which is also managed by ARA Venn.

In 2019 UK Government announced that it would procure for a delivery partner to manage a new Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, following AHGS 2013. The scheme is for £3 billion, with an option to increase it by an additional £3 billion.

The primary objective of the scheme is to provide long-term, lower-cost, fixed rate debt to registered providers to enable them to deliver more affordable homes than would otherwise have been the case.

Scheme rules

All loans must comply with the Scheme Rules published by Government, which also contains answers to some frequently asked questions. Please consult gov.uk for the Scheme Rules.

ARA Venn’s role

Our role is to originate, underwrite and manage the portfolio of loans to registered providers in England. The capital to fund them is raised by a Government guaranteed bond programme established and managed by ARA Venn. This programme is used to fund the lower-cost long-term fixed rate loans, of up to 30 years. ARA Venn is open to enquiries from suitably qualified investors in relation to potential issuances under the programme for Saltaire Finance plc.

The concession agreement to operate the scheme is between Government and Saltaire Housing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARA Venn, that is responsible for the successful delivery of the scheme.

Contact

Please contact us at moc.nnev-aranull@sgha or call +44 (0)20 7073 9350 with any enquiries about the scheme.