Homes England and Octopus Real Estate launch £175m Greener Homes Alliance

The Alliance will provide loans of between £1m and £20m to make new SME housing projects low carbon and more energy efficient

Octopus Real Estate, part of the Octopus Group, has partnered with the government’s housing delivery agency, Homes England, to launch the £175 million Greener Homes Alliance.

The Alliance will provide loan finance and support to SME housebuilders, to help them build more energy efficient homes throughout the country.

It will provide loans of between £1 million and £20 million to boost new SME housing projects, with any home funded having to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B.

As the energy efficiency of the homes built increases above a rating of B, the interest amount will decrease to incentivise builders to make properties as energy efficient as they can.

Homes that achieve an EPC rating of A will gain interest rate margin discounts of up to 2%.

SMEs that are starting developments will receive free expert advice from McBains and Octopus Energy on how to boost sustainability in their projects.

The Green Homes Alliance aims to support the construction of up to 750 new homes and also provide SME housebuilders with more expertise surrounding low carbon construction to help maintain this environmental impact in the future.

Housing Minister, Christopher Pincher MP, commented: “We are determined to ensure that our homes are fit for the future and improving energy efficiency is a key part of our ambitions to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

“Our Future Homes Standard will ensure that from 2025 new homes produce at least 75% lower carbon emissions and be future-proofed with low carbon heating.

“This partnership will help reach our targets for cleaner, greener homes for future generations.”

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