Mencap and Golden Lane Housing launch £10m charity bond

Golden Lane Housing (GLH), the housing arm of Mencap, has launched a £10m charity bond with plans to use the money raised to buy homes for people with learning disabilities.

Only one in three people with a learning disability currently live independently, and recent Mencap research has found that eight in ten councils in England and Wales report a housing shortage for adults with learning disabilities.

Jan Tregelles, acting chief executive of Mencap said: “There is a severe housing shortage for people with a learning disability. Following the abuse scandal at Winterbourne View, demand for housing is set to grow further because the Government has committed to return many of the 3,000 people currently in long stay hospitals to their local communities.

“Investors in this bond have the chance to transform the lives of people with a learning disability by helping them to live the lives they choose in quality permanent homes.”

The GLH bond will be the largest ever charity bond issue of its kind with Mencap aiming to secure money from a wide range of social investors for the bond. The minimum investment level will be £2,000 per investor and they will receive a gross yield of four per cent for the five year fixed term.

Alastair Graham, director of Golden Lane Housing said: “In difficult times, we need creative and ambitious solutions. Unprecedented cuts to local authority budgets mean charities must widen their sources of funding. We are confident that this bond will raise the capital we need to help us support more people than ever, and in turn create a new model for social investment within the charity and housing sectors.”

GLH will be working in partnership with Triodos Bank, and their head of corporate finance, Dan Hird, commented: “We’re very pleased to support our long standing client Golden Lane Housing in the next phase of its growth by raising up to £10 million of fresh capital through this sizeable charity bond issue. Triodos Bank also advised Golden Lane on its first ever bond issue back in 2003, which raised £1.8m and helped set the charity on its growth path.”

For more information visit http://www.glh.org.uk/glh-and-mencap-launch-charity-bond/