Wells Fargo Approves £50 Million Loan For Hyde, Establishes Strong Footing In UK Real Estate

• The loan would be utilized by the Hyde Housing Association for its 5-year development plan.
• Other lenders include NatWest, which approved a loan worth £200 million, to be repaid over a 10-year period.
• The loan marks the first time Wells Fargo has invested in the real estate sector of the UK.

Wells Fargo seems to be strengthening its roots in the UK after experiencing tremendous success in the US. The bank has recently approved a loan worth £50 million for the Hyde Housing Association in the UK through its branch in London, providing much-needed support to the Association’s development plan that spans over the next five years.

The bank has not invested in the UK’s social housing sector in the past, making this a first-of-its-kind deal for Wells Fargo’s operations in the country.

Hyde has acquired a couple of other loans in the past year as well to fund its program. These loans include a £200 million loan acquired through NatWest for a term of 10 years, while another club loan has been obtained for a period of 7 years worth £150 million. According to reported details, these loans have been obtained at a rate that is at par with a bond, or possibly even better.

Such investment highlights increased investor confidence in Hyde, at least according to Anna Wallace who is the Treasurer for Hyde. Wallace has highlighted that the 10-year loan program Hyde has signed with NatWest has strengthened their working relationship, while the club loan that has been signed with another long-term partner also shows strengthening business relationships.

Also, Wallace has highlighted that the club loan has been approved on a revolving basis for a period of 7 years, a service that has seldom been given during difficult financial times. Both the loans offer Hyde a smoother credit profile compared to its soon-to-mature legacy loans, making it easier for the organization to manage its loan obligations.

According to John Langley, who works at Wells Fargo in the capacity of Regional President for the EMEA region, the Hyde partnership builds into the bank’s affordable housing product line that has experienced tremendous success in the US and enables the bank to establish a strong footing in the UK. Langley has reiterated the bank’s commitment to boosting growth in the real estate sector of the UK by offering a wider product variety in the future.

The development program designed by Hyde over a period of five years has been stress-tested through models created by the Bank of England. That is why investors feel confident about investing in the Hyde development program. This can also pave the way for similar programs and investments to come into the real estate sector of the UK.