Raven Housing Trust lands £100M funding line from THFC's Blend
What's the deal? Raven Housing TrustDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has secured £100 million of funding capacity through The Housing Finance CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Blend FundingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → vehicle. The debt deal comprises a £50 million retained bond sale and a further £50 million available through a new Instalment Fee Facility. Raven, a social housing provider based in Surrey, owns and manages more than 9,500 homes across south-east England.
Why now? It is Raven's first use of Blend, timed to lock in rates while drawing cash only when needed. "That flexibility has delivered a meaningful saving and means our funding fits our plans, not the market's timing," said Mark Baker, director of resources and deputy chief executive at Raven.
What's the endgame? The money supports Raven's plan to deliver more than 2,200 homes across a range of tenures. The retained bond marks its first participation in the Blend 2032 benchmark, with the instalment facility offering room to draw more over an agreed period.
By the numbers: The £100 million sits in the 38th percentile for deal size, a mid-market raise rather than a sector-defining one. By comparison, THFC recently arranged a £100 million facility for Newlon and £250 million for Notting Hill Genesis, and reported £638 million of new loan agreements in its 2026 annual report.
The signal: Housing associations are leaning on pooled bond-market access and flexible facilities to fund construction through volatile rates. Blend's capital outstanding has now passed £2 billion, and Raven's draw-when-ready structure shows how smaller providers are using that machinery to keep building affordable homes.
Read more: theintermediary.co.uk
