Anchor Hanover Group successfully issues landmark inaugural Sustainability bond

Anchor Hanover Group, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people, has successfully issued its first sustainability bond, raising £350m. The transaction attracted strong engagement from investors with the issue being more than two times oversubscribed, with a spread of 0.93% and an all-in coupon of 2%.

Anchor Hanover supports more than 65,000 people in later life in retirement housing and residential care homes at almost 1,700 locations across England. The refinancing has provided increased financial resilience, strengthened liquidity and new funding to build thousands of additional homes for later living. Anchor Hanover will use the investment as part of its commitment to deliver 5,700 new sustainable homes over the next 10 years and expand its care home portfolio, alongside ongoing investment in its existing services.

Building on the organisation’s strong focus on sustainability, it is committed to achieving a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of B or above for every new home developed and all new homes will have access to sustainable, renewable energy sources.

The successful bond issue follows a ground-breaking £300m unsecured sustainability-linked revolving credit facility and a £350m unsecured bridging loan alongside a first-for-the-sector sustainability-linked hedging transaction. The bridging loan has been refinanced by the public bond. 

As part of its refinancing, Anchor Hanover has secured a long-term A+ credit rating from S&P Global Ratings. This is one of the highest in the sector, reflecting the quality of management and underlying operational and financial strength.

Centrus acted as sole financial advisor to Anchor Hanover, supporting the development of the refinancing strategy as well as its structuring and implementation. The bookrunners were Barclays, NAB, MUFG and Santander. 

Sarah Jones, Chief Financial Officer, Anchor Hanover: “We have ambitious plans to meet the increasing needs of older people in a sustainable way. This very successful issue means we can continue to evolve our housing and care offer so more people can have a home where they love living in later life.” 

Phil Jenkins, Managing Director, Centrus Financial: “Centrus is fully committed to sustainability and ESG, so we are thrilled at the immense investor demand for Anchor Hanover’s debut sustainability bond issue reflecting its position as one of the best rated organisations in the housing sector. This successful deal is the culmination of the innovative refinancing of Anchor Hanover’s treasury portfolio. We are delighted to have worked closely with Anchor Hanover, who are pioneering leaders in the housing and care for older people.”