£35M retained bond sale for RHP

Background

• RHP owns and manages circa 10,000 homes across the four London boroughs of Richmond, Kingston, Hillingdon and Hounslow.
• RHP’s growth strategy included the development of 1,000 homes over a 5-year period, up to 50% of which are expected to be modular.
• Repayment of existing debt and the development of new units required new funding.

Our Approach

RHP sold £140M of bonds in January 2015 with a further £35M retained.

In 2019 gilt yields fell to record lows and the strong trading performance of RHP’s existing bonds in the secondary market created favourable conditions for future issuance.

Chatham advised RHP on:

• Its future funding needs, risks and timing.
• Pricing considerations and historical performance, including limits.
• Comparative analysis with other HA retained bond sales.
• Spot vs deferred sale options, including cost of carry.
• Security efficiency and headroom.

RHP’s board mandated Chatham in September 2019 to manage the sale of retained bonds on a deferred basis. The process involved:

• Updating the investor presentation.
• Liaising with existing and new investors to establish the ability to facilitate a forward sale, as well as appetite and pricing indications.
• Book building through a direct negotiation process.
• Managing documentation issues including negotiation of the forward purchase agreement.
• Overseeing pricing and sale of the bonds.

Benefits

• Successful long-term fundraising for RHP.
• A 12-month deferral, reducing cost of carry.
• Full £35M placed with a single investor.
• Significant tightening of spread from initial price talks (IPT), pricing inside comparables.
• An accelerated documentation process for the forward purchase agreement.
• Pre-funding a significant portion of the future development programme at an attractive all-in rate.