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 £75m loan to the Peabody Trust and struck a £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 £31m of funding. The Cobalt loan will fund the association's 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's head of social housing finance, confirmed the bank would remain in the sector.

She said: "We will continue to go after the sort of deals that we have done until now." The bank lent more than £500m in 2002.

Source

Housing Today