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PIC, a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has completed a further £30 million debt investment in Apex Housing Association ('Apex'), following an initial investment of £100 million with Apex completed in 2021. PIC’s other investments in Northern Ireland include the £55 million invested in Clanmil Housing Association.
The investment will support the development of 300 to 400 new homes per year as part of Apex’s long-term strategy. The new homes funded by the investment will be extremely energy efficient. Apex intends all new homes to have a minimum EPC rating of ‘A’ from 2024.
Apex is a regulated housing association currently managing over 7,000 homes in Northern Ireland and is the third largest housing association in the country. Apex is regulated by the Department for Communities, part of the Northen Ireland Assembly. It delivers properties with a range of tenures, with a focus on general needs accommodation but also including supported housing, housing for vulnerable groups and support services for tenants.
Apex Housing Association, Northern Ireland
To date, PIC has invested over £3 billion in social housing across the UK. PIC has supported the social housing sector in all four countries of the United Kingdom, making its first investment in the sector in 2012.
Roderick Canning, Finance Director at Apex, said: “We are delighted to have secured this transaction with PIC to continue our development programme over the coming years. PIC is a valued partner following our initial transaction in 2021 and having the opportunity to work again with a team that has such a strong understanding of the social housing sector makes for an efficient and successful process. We valued PIC’s flexibility, including the ability to defer drawdown.”
Celia Franch Lopez, Debt Origination Manager at PIC, said: “We are very pleased to have worked with Apex Housing Association on this transaction, and to be able to help them create social value within Northern Ireland. The investment provides an attractive risk profile in an area of high demand for social housing. In addition, the maturity profile is well-suited to our liabilities. This investment complements our portfolio, providing low risk, long-term, secure cashflows that match our pension liabilities for decades into the future.”
TradeRisks acted as sole arranger and dealer for the transaction on behalf of Apex Housing Association on the private placement.
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Photos of their developments courtesy of Apex Housing Association, Northern Ireland
For further information please contact:
PIC
Clive Booth
+44 (0) 7780 599247
boothc@pensioncorporation.com
Apella Advisors
Arne Wysny
+44 (0) 7818 497469
PIC@apellaadvisors.com
About PIC
The purpose of PIC is to pay the pensions of its current and future policyholders. PIC provides secure retirement incomes through comprehensive risk management and excellence in asset and liability management, as well as exceptional customer service. At half year 2023, PIC had insured 339,900 pension scheme members and had £44.9 billion in financial investments, accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension schemes. PIC has made total pension payments of almost £12 billion to its policyholders. 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
About TradeRisks
TradeRisks Ltd is a financial advisory firm and a specialist in arranging financing for infrastructure, housing and renewable energy projects across Europe and the US. TradeRisks has arranged or negotiated more than £20 billion of funding over the past 20 years. TradeRisks is part of Gresham House Group.
