Raven Housing Trust Secures £100M Funding Capacity from The Housing Finance Corporation

The Housing Finance Corporation, the UK’s leading affordable housing aggregator, has announced that its Blend Funding Plc (Blend) vehicle has provided Raven Housing Trust, a new client, with £100 million of funding capacity, comprising a £50 million retained bond sale and a further £50 million available through a new Instalment Fee Facility.

Raven Housing Trust is a social housing provider based in Surrey, owning and managing over 9,500 homes across the South-East.

The transaction marks Raven Housing Trust’s first participation in the Blend 2032 benchmark, providing £50 million of competitive fixed-rate funding to support its strategic objectives. The additional £50 million available through the Instalment Fee Facility gives Raven flexibility to access further funding over an agreed availability period, strengthening its ability to invest in homes, services and communities, creating an even greater positive impact for both existing and new customers.

Raven’s transaction adds to Blend’s growing client base, as more housing associations access its flexible capital markets funding. Total capital outstanding under the programme has now surpassed £2 billion.

Mark Baker, Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive at Raven Housing Trust, said: “As first-time users of Blend, we’re very pleased with the outcome. Blend allowed us to secure attractive rates when the market was right for us, while receiving the funds only when we needed them. That flexibility has delivered a meaningful saving and means our funding fits our plans, not the market’s timing. It will help us deliver more than 2,200 homes across a range of tenures, providing more affordable homes and building stronger communities.”

Andrea Jelic, Senior Director Capital Markets at The Housing Finance Corporation, said: “We are pleased with this result for Raven. Working together, we were able to shape a solution around Raven’s specific objectives. Its thorough preparation supported by Blend’s flexible structure meant Raven could act when the market was right, securing attractive funding while keeping control of when the cash arrived. It shows that, even in volatile markets, housing associations can find opportunities, gain greater certainty over their funding and keep delivering the affordable homes their communities need.”

–ENDS–

About The Housing Finance Corporation

The Housing Finance Corporation has been the UK’s leading affordable housing aggregator for more than three decades, providing innovative funding solutions for over 140 housing associations across all four nations of the UK. The Housing Finance Corporation has amassed an £8.3bn loan book to date and continues to expand its range of financial products to serve the needs of the affordable housing sector. The Housing Finance Corporation has made significant contributions toward solving the UK’s affordable housing crisis, having funded 32,000+ homes under Affordable Housing Finance Plc (AHF), which oversaw the government’s initial Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme. The aggregator launched Blend Funding Plc (Blend) in 2018 which has grown to provide committed facilities to 36 housing associations totalling more than £2.6bn. In April 2026, The Housing Finance Corporation expanded its capital markets offering with new funding programmes and flexible financing structures, broadening access to long-term finance for housing associations across the UK. In July 2026, Moody’s maintained Blend Funding Plc’s A2 rating and revised its outlook to positive. In September 2026, S&P Ratings maintained the Group’s A+ rating with a stable outlook.

For more information: https://thehousingfinancecorp.com/

About Raven Housing Trust

Raven Housing Trust is a not-for-profit registered social housing provider, owning and managing over 9,500 homes across the South East of England.

Driven by our purpose, “Building Homes, Changing Lives,” we are committed to investing in our homes, neighbourhoods and communities and creating strong, sustainable places that people are proud to live in. We put customers at the heart of what we do, delivering trusted services and making a positive difference to the communities we serve. As well as investing in existing homes and neighbourhoods, Raven develops new affordable housing and delivers a range of community-led initiatives designed to support wellbeing, opportunity and long-term community resilience.

www.ravenht.org.uk
Facebook: RavenHousingTrust
LinkedIn: Raven Housing Trust

For further media information, please email raven@see-media.co.uk.