Orbit has announced that it has agreed a new £115m credit facility with Barclays Corporate Banking. The facility is Orbit’s second sustainability-linked loan (SLL) where the margin is linked to the housing group achieving certain sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
The first KPI is linked to Orbit’s performance against its target to manage 30% of its outdoor spaces in a way, which enables nature’s recovery by 2030. The second KPI measures the Social Value that Orbit creates through its various social programmes and by its supply chain. The Social Value will be calculated using the HACT and the national TOMs — Themes, Outcomes and Measures –— methodology.
Jonathan Wallbank, Group Finance Director, commented: “Sustainability is integral to Orbit’s vision to lead in building thriving communities and this new credit facility exemplifies our rapid progression in this area. Orbit is committed to enhancing the sustainability of its operations and communities, and we are delighted to have agreed this new facility with Barclays Corporate Banking, which will enable us to continue building much needed affordable homes and improving the energy efficiency of our existing homes, whilst delivering social value for our communities.”
This is the second SLL for Orbit, which announced that it had agreed a new £100m credit facility with ABN AMRO in April this year. This followed the publishing of its Sustainable Finance Framework, which set out a clear link between its financial and funding strategy and its sustainable priorities for the future.
Orbit was an early adopter of the Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS) for social housing and published its first ESG report in 2021. It established its Net Zero Carbon Roadmap in 2021 and Biodiversity Approach, which aligns with the framework of the UN Convention on Biology Diversity, in 2022. Last year Orbit also achieved ISO14001:2015 certification for its environmental management system by the British Standards Institute (BSI) and announced that it had successfully reduced its operational carbon third (33%) since it established a baseline in 2018.
Dave Cassidy, Barclays Head of Social Housing said: “Helping Orbit with this significant new financing is central to our ambition to accelerate transition finance in the Social Housing sector. Of particular note is our first Social Housing Biodiversity KPI which broadens the suite of measures within our growing Sustainably linked loan portfolio and demonstrates Orbit’s desire to work across the ESG spectrum.”
