Abbey National has expanded its social housing team and completed two new loans in the wake of a restructure last month.
Paul Stevens has joined the social housing team as senior lending manager. Previously, he was a senior manager in the public sector team at Lloyds TSB, specialising in housing finance.

Abbey National has also completed a 拢75m loan to the Peabody Trust and struck a 拢64.5m deal with Liverpool transfer association Cobalt Housing.

The Peabody deal is a 30-year term loan that involves refinancing an existing facility to Waltham Forest Community-based Housing Association and an additional 拢31m of funding. The Cobalt loan will fund the association鈥檚 transfer and refurbishment programme.

There was speculation before the restructure that Abbey National would reduce its social housing activity (HT 9 January 2003, page 14). But Rita Jobbins, the bank鈥檚 head of social housing finance, confirmed the bank would remain in the sector.

She said: 鈥淲e will continue to go after the sort of deals that we have done until now.鈥� The bank lent more than 拢500m in 2002.

Source

Housing Today