Wheatley Group receives first tranche of funding for new homes

The first tranche of new funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help build and improve thousands of affordable homes across Scotland has been drawn down by Wheatley Group at a record low-interest rate of under 1.5%.Wheatley, Scotland’s largest housing, care and property-management group and the UK’s largest builder of social-rented homes, has received the first £85 million of £185m agreed with the EIB last year.It will support the next phase of Wheatley’s new build programme, providing 1,400 affordable homes as well as improving thousands of existing properties through the upgrading of kitchens, bathrooms, internal common works and other refurbishments.Wheatley’s new build programme will see 7500 homes built from Balloch and Dumbarton through Glasgow, West Lothian and Edinburgh to North Berwick by 2025.Over the last decade, the European Investment Bank has provided more than £4 billion for transport, education, social housing, transport, water, energy, urban regeneration and new hospital investment across Scotland, with additional investment from UK wide programmes.