ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Liverpool-based housing association Cosmopolitan has had a bumper year. After getting a £6.3m grant – one of its largest ever allocations from the approved development programme – it expanded its loans with Newcastle ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Society from £500,000 to £14.5m.

The grant and loan will fund a 411-unit development programme including general needs, supported housing and accommodation for the YMCA.

It had planned to raise its loan to £10m but did so well in its grant bid that it had to up the loan by another £4m to part-fund the extra units it could now build.

"The £10m facility was already in place, so once we got the ADP funding we increased it to £14m and we didn't need to renegotiate," said Cosmopolitan finance director Kevin Martin.

The facility was a new one, separate from the £500,000 loan Cosmopolitan took out nine years ago, said Newcastle's social housing lending manager Darren Warneford. He believed that competitive margins and the existing relationship with the association helped it to win the expanded deal.

The planned development programme is a big expansion for 2771-unit Cosmopolitan.

Cosmopolitan Housing Group, to which the association belongs, has its roots in student accommodation. "But a few years ago, the Housing Corporation decided student housing was a non-core activity," said Martin. With student housing therefore not eligible for grant, the group was formed on 1 April, comprising a student homes arm, market renting arm Cosmopolitan Commercial and Cosmopolitan Housing Association.

The student housing element is also booming. Martin said: "This September we will hand over 800 units of student accommodation."