- Santander has agreed a £310m refinancing package with Peabody, one of the largest not-for-profit housing associations in the UK.
- The transaction will support Peabody as it continues both its regeneration plans and development of much needed new homes across London and the Home Counties.
- For over 25 years, Santander UK has partnered with social housing providers, offering significant sector expertise, helping clients to secure funding, improve housing stock, strengthen their financial position and help deliver safe, affordable homes for communities across the UK.
Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking has agreed a refinance package totalling more than £300 million with not-for-profit housing association Peabody.
The funding package includes a £125m revolving credit facility and a £185m term loan, allowing Peabody to continue both its regeneration plans and its ongoing development programme. The £310m will extend the social housing provider’s liquidity under a more simplified lending structure, enabling operational efficiencies.
Peabody is responsible for nearly 109,000 homes across London and the Home Counties. The housing association is also responsible for the community centres, play areas and green spaces that bring these areas to life and ensures these spaces are well-maintained and provide reliable landlord services.
The refinance agreement will support Peabody as it continues to develop quality affordable housing and invest in residents’ existing homes to ensure they are well maintained, safe and sustainable.
Santander and Peabody have a long-standing relationship dating back to 2003 and the bank has supported the housing association as it has grown to become one of the largest social housing providers in the sector.
Jane Johnstone, Head of Social Housing, Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking, said: “We are delighted to be strengthening our relationship with Peabody as they continue to provide a solution to much needed affordable housing in London and the Home Counties.
“Affordable housing is a key focus for the Government and we at Santander are committed to playing our part in forwarding this agenda. We have lent to housing associations for over 25 years, and look forward to continuing working with Peabody to amplify our shared commitment to positive long-term change.”
Phil Day, Chief Financial Officer at Peabody, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve agreed this refinancing package with Santander. It simplifies the structure of our debt with the bank and will help us continue with our plans to invest in residents’ homes so they’re safe, warm, and well-maintained, as well as doing what we can to build much-needed new homes. We’re always looking for opportunities to develop our links with financial institutions and look forward to building on our relationship.”
For over 25 years, Santander UK has partnered with Social Housing providers to help the sector reach its goals, lending to over 100 housing associations in the UK that provide over 1.9 million homes. The bank now lends £7.8 billion to the sector and offers a range of finance solutions.
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Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. The bank serves its customers via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the FCA and the PRA in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. The group’s activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This operating model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. In the first quarter of 2025, Banco Santander had €1.4 trillion in total funds, 175 million customers, 7,900 branches and 207,000 employees.
About Peabody
Peabody is one of the UK’s oldest and largest not-for-profit housing associations, founded by philanthropist George Peabody in 1862 to help Londoners in need. Today we take a local approach, working with residents and communities to strengthen our 140 neighbourhoods, provide quality homes and deliver a range of services to support people when they need it most.
We look after 109,000 homes and 220,000 residents across London and the home counties, plus the community centres, play areas, and green spaces that bring these areas to life. We provide residents with reliable landlord services and keep these places well-maintained. We also provide care and support services to around 25,000 customers including specialist accommodation and vital support for people affected by a range of social and health issues.
We’re focused on listening to residents so we can deliver better services and better homes and places. Our local teams work closely with residents, councils and partners to tackle inequality, improve wellbeing and strengthen communities. Alongside this, we’re committed to play our part where we can in building more affordable homes which our communities need.
With an average rent of £147 a week, we offer real value, and our homes remain significantly more affordable than the market. In 2024–25, we spent £431 million maintaining and improving residents’ homes.