Lloyds Banking Group partners with the Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme

Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s biggest commercial supporter to the social housing sector, is partnering with Homewards, the programme spearheaded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, that aims to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated.

Through the partnership, Lloyds Banking Group will provide an initial £50 million of new lending to support small and medium sized housing providers and charities to deliver more homes to tackle homelessness. These will include homes with wrap-around support. Currently, these organisations can face barriers in accessing finance to deliver housing projects. By working together, Homewards and Lloyds Banking Group want to show it is possible to break down these barriers, allowing organisations to have the opportunity to access finance not previously available to them.

Through the partnership, new investment will be provided to organisations operating in the six flagship Homewards locations in Aberdeen, Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield. As part of the partnership, Lloyds Banking Group will also continue their support to housing in the Liverpool City Region.

Working across the locations, local and regional government, not-for-profits and financial institutions will be brought together to identify what is needed and key potential providers, creating a clear pathway to provide financial support. This includes funding and support with dedicated expertise across the six locations. This pioneering partnership will ensure that, alongside new lending, the organisations will be supported with expertise to be ready for the new investment.

The organisations will be able to build, develop, or refurbish homes, some of which will be for people with additional needs and support. They will also be supported to be investment ready by Lloyds Banking Group, as for some, it will be the first time that they will have received this type of funding.

Lloyds Banking Group will work collaboratively with the Homewards locations to identify the key areas of need and deploy the financing. The offer will unlock more homes for models such as Housing First, which provides wrap-around support and accommodation for those most in need, vital in the efforts to end homelessness.

The partnership will support organisations such as Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), a housing association and Homewards coalition partner helping individuals and families across the South West and South of England. BCHA manages nearly 1,500 houses, including supported housing in the local region. Lloyds Banking Group’s support for BCHA has enabled its expansion in the region to support people facing issues such as homelessness, human trafficking and slavery, domestic abuse, and mental health challenges.

Charlie Nunn, Group Chief Executive Officer, Lloyds Banking Group: ‘A safe and lasting home is the foundation for good lives and livelihoods. In partnership with Homewards, we want to increase provision of homes for those most in need – working with small, specialist housing providers and charities in communities across the UK. They have a deep understanding of vulnerabilities and needs in their neighbourhoods, and increasing finance for them to build and develop more homes will enable countless people and families to thrive.’

Pim Gregory, Executive Director for Homelessness at The Royal Foundation says: ‘Supporting the Homewards locations to access the funding, skills and expertise needed to deliver homes is an essential part of our mission to demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness. We are thrilled that Lloyds Banking Group will become a Homewards Activator, delivering new funding and investment readiness support to organisations in our Homewards locations to increase the supply of housing and as essential support for people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. Homewards looks forward to working with other financial institutions to see how they too can catalyse more homes to help make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated.'

Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, Homewards Sector Partner, says: 'With homelessness rising rapidly across Britain, now more than ever we need to see all sectors of society pulling together to find solutions. It’s great to see that Lloyds Banking Group is joining forces with The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme, to provide investment that will deliver much needed affordable homes to people experiencing homelessness. A secure home is the foundation of a good life and people coming out of homelessness also require dedicated, individualised support.'

Homes are a focus of Homewards’ work, with each of the six Homewards locations delivering their own housing projects and developing other ways to unlock homes. As an Activator, Lloyds Banking Group will work closely with Homewards to drive this wider work and explore opportunities for Lloyds Banking Group to further their work on making more permanent and social housing available.

Lloyds Banking Group also commits to working closely with The Royal Foundation to continue to explore how to unlock more homes to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness.