FCHO secures £110m Santander funding deal
First Choice Homes Oldham will use the money to help refurbish 11,500 properties and deliver 600 residences – starting with 147 on the former Oldham Mumps railway station site.
The £110m refinancing agreement with Santander is the latest development in FCHO’s 15-year relationship with the bank. FCHO executive director of corporate services, Andy Ewart, said it was a testament to the confidence the financier has in the social housing provider’s vision for the future.
Ewart said: “These are exciting times for FCHO. We are demonstrating we can help address the housing crisis in the area by having real ambition and the financial tools to deliver on it.”
Robert Simmons, relationship director at Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking, said: “Having supported FCHO since its formation in 2011, our partnership has growth from strength to strength, and we look forward to helping the team continue making a real impact on the local community.”
The money would go towards delivering the housing association’s 2025-2028 strategy. This will see all of its existing stock attaining EPC C ratings by 2030 through a series of energy efficiency upgrades.
FCHO listed Southlink, its project with Vistry Group on the 10-acre former Oldham Mumps railway station site, as the first to utilise the funds for new housing delivery.
The scheme will oversee the building of 98 social rent homes, 40 shared ownership properties, and nine for rent-to-buy. The residences themselves will be a mix of apartments, terraced, semi-detached, and detached houses with between one and four bedrooms. In accordance with FCHO’s sustainability ambitions, they would include air-source heat pumps.
Vistry and FCHO’s plans, which are currently being considered by Oldham Council for approval, also include the provision of nearly four acres of public open space.
The Southlink project team includes AshtonHale, Urban Green, E3P, L&F Solutions, i-Transport, Redmore Environmental, Groundtech Consulting, Lanpro, Shape Engineering, Survey Solutions, Collington Winter, RPS. You can see the full application by searching reference FUL/355201/25 on Oldham Council’s planning portal.
In addition to the Santander refinancing agreement, FCHO has sought to bolster its housing stock by joining JV North last month.
According to FCHO, 10% of those living in the borough of Oldham reside in its properties.
