Winckworth Sherwood lead funders on charging of 1,699 residential units by social landlord

Law firm Winckworth Sherwood has advised Prudential Trustee Company as noteholder trustee on the charging of 1,699 homes owned and managed by South West housing association LiveWest Homes.

The charging, completed at the end of November, was valued at over £100m and forms part of a wider £1bn guaranteed secured note programme.

LiveWest manages a portfolio of over 37,000 homes across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire, with a further 15,000 new homes planned.

Ruby Giblin, Housing Finance Partner at Winckworth Sherwood who led the charging, said: “This is an important deal for LiveWest and its funders acting for the new noteholders, Prudential Trustee Company Limited, and other existing funders. It was completed at short notice to fit in with the note issuance under Numerical Apportionment arrangements where we agreed to a consistent approach under challenging circumstances, and it was crucial in helping LiveWest achieve its ambitious development programme.”

Giblin added: “We expect to see a significant increase in charging transactions in 2021, as housebuilding recovers, post Covid, in particular we look forward to modular homes built by social housing providers going into charge. Funders have this year agreed charging models on modular backed up industry-wide design and build standards. Charging has been the missing piece in the modular puzzle, and we can expect it to drive further development.”