Addleshaw Goddard advised joint bookrunners Barclays, HSBC and RBC Capital Markets on the largest bond issuance by a housing association to date. 

The deal, which completed on Thursday 20th July, saw one of the UK's biggest housing associations, London & Quadrant Housing Trust, complete a £500 million issuance, split between a 12 and 40 year dual tranche structure of £250 million each. Prudential, also advised by Addleshaw Goddard, acted as bond trustee and security trustee.  

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by leading debt capital markets partner, Beth Collett, as counsel to the joint bookrunners, and banking partner, Steve Mackie, as counsel to Prudential.

In December 2016 Addleshaw Goddard advised the majority of London & Quadrant's lenders on its consolidation with East Thames, which included a £2.6 billion refinancing package and supported L&Q's ambition to deliver a further 100,000 properties.

Beth Collett, commenting on the transaction said: "Following the recent move towards mergers and consolidations in the sector, which brings with it more ambitious development targets and increased funding requirements, we are expecting to now see housing associations looking to the capital markets with greater frequency and for larger issue sizes. As a sector leader, it was expected that the London & Quadrant bond issue would be well received and as a firm we are delighted to be able to showcase our public bond expertise on the largest transaction the sector has seen to date."

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Notes to Editors

• Our banking practice, with over 100 lawyers internationally, covers a range of finance related advice as well as housing finance,  including asset finance and leasing, asset based lending , corporate banking, derivatives, finance for professional practices, funds finance, hotel finance , Islamic finance, leveraged finance and real estate finance
• Our housing finance team has been consistently recognised with a national Tier 1 ranking in both Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for the past 10 years, and is seen as the pre-eminent firm advising funders on housing finance transactions. Alongside Beth, Lee Shankland, Steve Mackie and Nick Barlow are recognised experts.
• The team has advised on many of the most highest profile transactions during the past 12 months, including advising all lenders on the refinancings and "mega mergers" in the sector, notably the two largest ever transactions in the social housing space, both of which completed in December 2016:
  • the £2.8bn refinancing of Clarion Group which was established on the mergers of Affinity Housing and Circle Housing; and
  • the £2.6bn refinancing of London & Quadrant Housing Group and East Thames Housing Group, as part of their merger.
• The team is at the cutting edge of legislative changes and has recently been advising the funding community, via the Council of Mortgage Lenders, on changes to the insolvency regime (and the introduction of a "special administration" route) for housing associations.