Open for new investment
Launch: 2025
Social Housing Finance 1
Overview
Social Housing Fund 1 Plc (SHF 1) is a vehicle to provide debt raised in the capital markets to Housing Associations that fall outside the scope of Blend
SHF 1 Funding in Numbers
£100m
Capital Committed
1
Housing Association Borrowers
Baa1
Moody's Rating
As of 1 October 2026
About SHF 1
Our financing supports the purchase, development, improvement and repair of affordable housing, as well as the refinancing of existing loans.
Core Principles
SHF1 provides competitive bond finance to the clear affordable housing sector, by obtaining funding from issuance under the Multi Vehicle Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme.
- Funds are raised solely for on-lending to not-for-profit housing associations in the UK
- Funds are on-lent on a substantially identical maturity, interest and repayment profile thus ensuring that no material mismatch risk is taken on interest rate movements
- No currency risk in relation to its funds is taken by SHF1 or passed on to its borrowers
- Loans are fully secured and covenanted in accordance with the terms of SHF1’s governing Trust Deed
EMTN Programme Features
- Sterling only
- Range of maturities
- Primarily fixed rate issuance but floating rate issuance will also be possible
- Issue proceeds may only be on-lent to not-for-profit UK registered providers / housing associations (including finance subsidiaries)
- Programme size up to £5bn
Ownership Structure
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Housing Finance Holding Corporation Limited (the UKs leading affordable housing aggregator), but remains legally separate and does not receive support from the wider Group. As such The Housing Finance Holding Corporation Limited provides SHF1’s staff under the terms of a Management Services Agreement with The Group’s service company, The Housing Finance Corporation Operations Limited.
Further Information
SHF1 has been created to offer capital markets funding to housing associations that sit outside of the scope of Blend. It currently has one signed loan agreement for Newlon Housing Trust for £100m which is yet to be drawn down. We are dedicated to ensuring much-needed affordable housing finance is delivered to suitable housing associations, while providing clear, transparent investment opportunities to prospective investors.
The table below details Newlon Housing Trust’s profile. Further borrowers may be added to SHF1 over time that have similar characteristics to Newlon Housing Trust and their addition do not cause a downgrade to SHF1.
| Housing Association | Nominal SHF1 Loan (£m) | # of Units Owned | Housing Properties (£) | Net Debt (£) | Operating Surplus (£k) | Net Interest Payable (£k) | Social Housing Lettings Turnover (£k) | Total Turnover (£k) | Regulatory Status | Year End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newlon Housing Trust | 100 | 7,545 | 1,329,691 | 663,585 | 37,927 | -32,623 | 88,884 | 126,025 | G1/V2/C2 | March 2026 |
Borrower Compliance with the Asset Cover Test:
The following table summarises the Asset Cover Ratio (each as defined below) derived from the security portfolio for each Borrower.
| Housing Association | Loan Facility Nominal Amount (£k) | Aggregate Outstanding Amount of Drawn Loan (£k) | Aggregate Outstanding Amount of Undrawn Loan (£k) | Interest payable (£) | Fixed Charge Security - Value - EUV-SH (£k) | Fixed Charge Security - Value - MV-ST (£k) | Cash Security (£k) | Asset Cover Ratio (Max 1x) |
| Newlon Housing Trust | 100,000 |
- Investors share in the benefit of a floating charge over the whole of the Issuer’s undertaking, property and assets. Borrower liabilities are isolated and owed to the Issuer on a several (rather than joint) basis
- Underlying loans have minimum security levels of 105 EUV-SH and/or 115 MVT-SH
- Notes are expected to be repaid on the expected maturity date, although the terms of the Notes allow for payment deferral until a legal maturity date to ensure the relevant borrowers repay the underlying loans in time. The legal maturity date is the final date for note repayment
- Liquidity reserve fund – 12 months of interest payments held on trust in favour of the Issuer, provided by all borrowers on all loans made by the Issuer
- Loan interest received from borrowers 30 days ahead of bond coupon payment
- Final loan principal payment received 8 days ahead of expected final maturity of bond
Social Housing Finance 1 Plc (SHF1), established in 2025 by The Housing Finance Corporation Limited, acts as a debt aggregator whose purpose is to provide bond market access to suitable housing associations which typically do not have the capacity or requirement to issue benchmark-size bonds.
Moody’s Ratings assigned Social Housing Finance 1 Plc (SHF1) a Baa1 long-term issuer rating with a stable outlook on 16 September 2026. The rating reflects the credit quality of SHF1’s sole initial borrower, supported by sound liquidity, expected recovery in operating performance and a strong regulatory framework, while constrained by high debt, weak interest coverage and the pool’s lack of diversification.
Contact Us
We’re here to help you channel finance into lasting impact. Get in touch to explore how we can support your mission – one home, one partnership at a time.
Contact Details
info@thehousingfinancecorp.com
+44 (0) 20 7337 9920
For media enquiries, please contact media@thehousingfinancecorp.com
Location
3rd Floor, 17 St. Swithin’s Lane,
London, United Kingdom, EC4N 8AL