PIC invests £100 million in Accord Housing Association

London, 3 July 2018 – Pension Insurance Corporation plc (“PIC”), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has entered a long-dated, senior secured private placement worth £100 million with Accord Housing Association (“Accord”). PIC was chosen as sole lender following a full market tender due to its flexibility on maturity and deferral capabilities. The money will be used to repay existing maturing loans and fund the future development of 1,500 homes over the next five years.

Accord is a regulated housing association providing 13,000 affordable homes and a range of support and care services to over 80,000 people across central and northern England. It is one of the largest housing, health and social care organisations in the Midlands and employs over 3,000 people, delivering on average 250 to 300 new homes each year.

Key points of the transaction:

-       Range of maturities spanning over 30 years
-       Maturity profile tailored to match PIC’s pension liabilities in years where it is difficult to source cash flows in the public bond markets
-       Deferred drawdown, reducing the cost of carry for the borrower
-       The debt is secured on housing assets

Stuart Fisher, Executive Director of Resources at Accord Housing Association, said: “We are delighted to have secured a £100 million funding facility with a new investment partner PIC, an established and well-respected funder to the social housing sector. As part of our planned funding strategy, Accord has now raised £185 million in the last two and half years and this new funding facility shall be used to support Accord’s growth and development ambitions to deliver much needed new homes.”

Marno Jooste, Debt Origination Manager at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “We are very happy to have invested in Accord, a dynamic and ambitious social housing provider and I would like to thank everyone for the work that went in to reaching this agreement. Sourcing long-dated cash flows is important to PIC as we look to back our long-term pension liabilities. Investing in social housing and other illiquid assets allows PIC to generate enhanced yield, helping us to secure more pension liabilities. This, in turn, means more trustees can guarantee their members’ pensions through buy-ins and buyouts, greatly improving their financial security in retirement.”

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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 Blue Rubicon

Anthony Silverman
+44 (0)20 3757 9231
Anthony.Silverman@teneobluerubicon.com

About Pension Insurance Corporation
The purpose of Pension Insurance Corporation plc (“PIC”) is to pay the pensions of its policyholders. PIC provides secure and stable retirement incomes through leading customer service, comprehensive risk management and excellence in asset and liability management. At year-end 2017, PIC had insured 151,600 pension scheme members and had £25.7 billion in financial investments, accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of U.K. defined benefit pension schemes. Clients include FTSE 100 companies, multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 454345). For further information please visit www.pensioncorporation.com

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