Kingswood secures £15m of forward funding

The housebuilder has agreed a multi-site financing facility with government agency Homes England, to help spur its planned expansion.

The loan facility will help forward fund the delivery of four sites with planning consent for more than 200 homes and a gross development value in excess of £50m, according to Kingswood Homes. It is also a platform that could be used to fund additional sites.

Preston-based Kingswood, whose schemes include The Hollies, at Forton in Lancashire, and the Green Hills neighbourhood south-west of Blackburn, among others, wants to double the number of homes it completes each year to 200.

Kingswood Homes’ managing director Paul Jones said: “The agreement gives us access to one central fund that can be used tactically across all our sites. It gives us much more flexibility, allowing us to respond to market demand and move resources to where they are most effective.

“[The deal] also creates a platform that should ultimately allow us to fund additional sites within the funding structure, enabling us to continue to grow in a more efficient way, by saving time and reducing the level of additional costs.”

A statement from Homes England said: “We are pleased to be able to provide a flexible funding structure to help support the continued growth of Kingswood Homes. The structure highlights the ability we have within the Home Building Fund to structure a finance package matched to the specific needs of a partner.”

Last year, Kingswood delivered a range of homes at sites both in Lancashire – The Hollies – and outside the region, in Devon.

In Blackburn, planning for further phases at the Green Hills development was granted this year, including detailed consent for 155 homes and outline permission for a further 280. The first phase was designed by Hemingway Design.