PIC completes £75m investment in Trafford Housing Trust

London, 24 January 2017 – Pension Insurance Corporation (“PIC”), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has invested £75 million in secured debt issued by Trafford Housing Trust, a housing association based in Greater Manchester. The loan was part of a wider £275 million refinancing package, intended to fund both the repayment of existing debt, fund further direct development and support a joint venture with L&Q housing association, which will deliver 500 homes per year. The £75 million loan allowed PIC and Trafford Housing Trust to sculpt a transaction which meets both parties’ needs, with the loan maturing in three tranches in 2051, 2052 and 2056, matching PIC’s liabilities.

PIC has previously invested c.£150 million in Social Housing PFI bonds in Greater Manchester, allowing the refurbishment of almost 2500 dwellings in the City. The company has invested more than £600 million in social housing around the country and expects a strong pipeline of transactions in 2017.

In September 2016, PIC published a White Paper, "How institutional investors are investing in local communities". The document aims to highlight investment best practice by, and in, Housing Associations in order that this can be shared and developed more widely. Housing Associations are clear that without the long-term relationships and security of financing that can be offered by institutional investors, development plans would need to be cancelled or scaled back. 

Helen Rourke, director of finance at THT, said: "The refinancing gives the Trust more control over our assets and greater potential to invest in our strategy to deliver better homes for residents, and significant numbers of new homes of all types across the North West."

Elizabeth Cain, Debt Origination Analyst at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: "We are delighted to have been able to help fund Trafford Housing Trust’s development plans and provide them with a more flexible borrowing structure than the pre-existing financing. We have ambitious plans to partner with Housing Associations in 2017 and beyond and look forward to further investments in the sector."

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Notes to Editors:

For further information, please contact:

Pension Insurance Corporation

Jeremy Apfel
+44 (0)20 7105 2140
apfel@pensioncorporation.com

Teneo Strategy

Anthony Silverman
+44 (0)20 7260 2700
Anthony.Silverman@teneostrategy.com

About Pension Insurance Corporation Pension Insurance Corporation plc ("PIC") provides tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension funds. PIC brings safety and security to scheme members' benefits through innovative, bespoke insurance solutions, which include deferred premiums and the use of company assets as part payment. At 30 June 2016 PIC had £18.4bn in assets and had insured more than 130,000 pension fund members. Clients include FTSE 100 companies, multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and PRA (FRN 454345). For further information please visit www.pensioncorporation.com

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