It allows the bank to further support small business housebuilders across the UK
Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has agreed an ENABLE Build guarantee with the British Business Bank and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC).
The new guarantee enables HTB to continue its support to small business housebuilders across the UK. It follows HTB’s previous ENABLE Guarantee, agreed in 2017, which has so far provided £342 million in SME housebuilder funding and supported the building of 1,547 new housing units.
ENABLE Build was launched as a separate variant of the ENABLE Guarantee to provide £1 billion of guaranteed support to smaller housebuilders. Under both the ENABLE Guarantee and ENABLE Build programs, the UK government takes on a portion of the lender’s risk on a portfolio of loans to smaller businesses, in return for a fee.
In the 12 months to March 2022, the ENABLE Build program supported over £330 million of lending to more than 130 small housebuilders.
“Increasing the current housebuilding supply in the UK is a priority for decision-makers across local and national governments,” Reinald de Monchy, managing director of guarantee and wholesale solutions at the British Business Bank, said. “This ENABLE Build transaction will allow HTB to increase funding to SME housebuilders, helping them deliver more housing and allowing more people to get on to the property ladder.”
Alex Upton (pictured), managing director of development finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, pointed out that while building houses in the UK is dominated by a handful of gigantic players, SME housebuilders are vital, not only for our market, but also for the communities and the country as a whole.
“They are often the beating heart of regional and local property markets, and they provide a harbour for the training and development of design, craftmanship, and skill in the battle against homogeneity,” Upton said. “But SME housebuilders have faced some stiff headwinds.
“The ENABLE Build guarantee shows great commitment from the British Business Bank to support SME housebuilders. We are confident that HTB will be able to support an increased number of SME housebuilders to improve housing supply, create employment, and stimulate local economies across the country.”
