The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£50 million funding for Hillcrest projects
Dundee-based charity aims to create 2,000 homes in three years
Dundee-based housing association Hillcrest Homes has secured £50 million to fund the largest development programme in the company’s history.
Hillcrest has reached the halfway point of an ambitious programme to build hundreds of new homes across Scotland.
In the year to March, the registered charity completed nearly 300 homes and is currently working on a further 600 properties.
In a three-year period, Hillcrest will let for an affordable rent almost 2,000 new homes which have been built to an exceptionally high standard.
Hillcrest worked with ATFS and RBS to secure a private finance deal.
The company said the competitive rates on the loan would help keep rents affordable.
Hillcrest Homes chief executive Angela Linton said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with our longterm partner Royal Bank of Scotland to secure the £50m.
“Although this was a newly released product, the process from start to finish was seamless with a great result for Hillcrest Homes and all of our tenants.”
Among Hillcrest’s current projects are 27 homes at Pigeon Row, on the outskirts of Crieff, which has a development cost of £3.5m.
A further £20.5m is being spent at Ellengowan Drive in Dundee where 66 homes for social rent and 66 homes for mid-market rent are being developed.
Hillcrest is also part of the project to redevelop Sunnyside in Montrose, where 34 homes will be created.
As well as several other sites in Dundee, Hillcrest also has active projects in Stonehaven, Aberdeen,
Edinburgh and Arbroath, where it creating properties in the former power loom mill, Baltic Mill.
David Horne, director of housing finance at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “The bank is delighted to build on its long-term relationship with Hillcrest Homes and support their continued drive to provide good quality, affordable homes for families across Scotland.
“It is particularly pleasing to see large financing such as this being delivered in such challenging and unprecedented times.
“Helping deliver social and affordable housing across Scotland and the UK is a priority for us as a bank.
“We will continue to work with partners such as Hillcrest Homes to provide long-term funding of up to £3 billion to support the construction of around 20,000 affordable homes over the next three years across the UK.”