Leading provider of finance for property investment and development, Pluto Finance, has completed its first two residential scheme loans in Wales from the Welsh Pension Partnership (WPP) totalling £8.9m.
Last month the WPP consolidated £25bn of assets from eight local authority pension schemes into a new investment company. It has mandated Pluto Finance to manage £30m of its capital to back developers, particularly SME companies with a focus on delivering affordable homes.
An undisclosed element of the £30m has been ring fenced to back new housing projects in Wales, with the remainder assigned to Pluto’s Ƶ-wide lending activities, which are mainly residential property developer related, but with some commercial. However, Wales has and will continue to benefit from its main Ƶ fund investment activities.
The first deployment of the £8.9m in Wales by Pluto will finance the construction of 56 energy-efficient homes across Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire for local people. Both schemes are being constructed by Obsidian Homes.
A loan of £4.35m supports phase one of a 37-home development in Llanarth, Ceredigion, The initial scheme will deliver 16 open-market and five affordable homes. The latter will be sold at 70% of open market value to eligible local buyers, including those working in key roles such as healthcare, education, and emergency services. Phase two includes a further 14 open-market homes and two affordable units and will commence once sales of phase one have progressed.
The second loan facility of £4.57m is for a new development in Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, comprising 15 open-market homes available for local families, and four affordable apartments which the local council will acquire. This site is already under construction, with Pluto stepping in at short notice to complete the lending package in just two weeks following formal credit approval.
The initial phase of properties are expected to be completed in around 18 months’ time, with a further six months earmarked for sales. Obsidian Homes is already seeing strong demand, with two homes reserved before formal marketing has started.
Jonathan Scott, lending director at Pluto Finance, said: “These developments are the type of projects Pluto is proud to support; high-quality, low-carbon homes for local families in places that need them. We’re particularly pleased to be backing Obsidian, a borrower that shares our values, and to play a role in addressing the imbalance between second homes and permanent residences in these communities. We are delighted that our flexible approach and strong understanding of the local market has resulted in a second mandate being quickly secured as we continue to fill a buoyant and growing lending pipeline across Wales.”
Paul Rees from Obsidian Homes said: “Working with Pluto has been a seamless experience from start to finish. The team was highly flexible and pragmatic throughout, demonstrating its borrower-first approach and enabling us to proceed with these important developments in West Wales. Pluto has proved to be a dependable funding partner and we look forward to working with the team to finance future developments.”
