Homes England has agreed to lend £309m to bring forward 20,000 new homes at three major London developments.
It has made the loans from the Home Building Fund to invest in infrastructure and accelerate housing delivery.
The agency has provided a £148m facility to joint venture partners Argent Related and Barnet Council to support the 6,700-home Brent Cross South development. It said the finance will see housing delivered four years earlier than planned.
Homes England has provided Starwood Capital Group and Lendlease with a £105m debt facility to unlock 3,000 homes at Silvertown Quays. The Silvertown Partnership will use the funds to tackle high up-front costs as well as restoring the Millennium Mills and dock walls, which had previously prevented development.
It has agreed £56m for the 10,000-home Barking Riverside development from the Mayor of London and L&Q to provide services, road and social infrastructure. The finance will help add a further 1,000-2,000 homes to the scheme by unlocking challenging parts of the site.
Homes England chief investments officer Gordon More said: “By investing in projects on this scale and allowing funding to be recycled into future phases of development, we are able to support significant schemes where commercial lenders may not.
“This means these three major developments can invest in the infrastructure they need to deliver in these uncertain times and accelerate the delivery of new homes.”
Housing minister Christopher Pincher added: “This investment from our £4.5bn fund is a real statement of intent, delivering up to 20,000 homes, thousands of jobs, and putting in place the schools, retail and leisure spaces needed to form strong, vibrant communities.”
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