The firm previously advised ARA Venn on the establishment of the scheme in 2020, on the establishment and update of a £3.5bn bond programme for the Private Rented Sector Housing Guarantee Scheme in 2015 and 2018. The update for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme increases the funds available for loans aimed at delivering new-build affordable housing and also supporting decarbonisation efforts for existing homes.

The Macfarlanes team was led by finance partner Richard Fletcher and involved cross-practice input from competition senior counsel Fiona Beattie, and finance associate Catherine Dawkins.

James Barnwell, Director and in house Counsel to ARA Venn said “We are delighted that the upsize of the bond programme will allow us to provide low-cost loans to private registered providers across England and to now facilitate investment in existing homes, in addition to development of new homes. We are grateful for the continued support of the expert teams at Macfarlanes across multiple disciplines and in particular to Richard and Fiona whose consistent involvement from the scheme’s establishment and our business more generally was invaluable.”