Wheatley secures £185m in landmark EU deal to build and improve homes

Wheatley Group has unveiled £185 million of new funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help build and improve thousands of affordable homes across Scotland.The landmark deal was announced in Glasgow yesterday by EIB vice president Jonathan Taylor at a community event attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP and tenants, staff and apprentices from across Wheatley, along with local politicians and business, community and social housing leaders.The new financial support takes the amount of funding raised by Wheatley in the past four years to £800m and comes in the week the group was confirmed – for the second year running – as the UK’s largest builder of social-rented homes. Wheatley is progressing an ambitious building programme, from 2015 through to 2025, of 7500 affordable new homes from Balloch and Dumbarton through Glasgow, West Lothian and Edinburgh to North Berwick.The EIB loan, by far the largest of its type made in Scotland, is linked to a commitment by Wheatley to invest £400m over the next three years in affordable housing. This also includes refurbishing existing homes to meet new Scottish and EU energy-efficiency standards, helping tenants cut energy bills, and housing and integrating refugees into Wheatley communities.Nicola Sturgeon with apprentices from Wheatley Group and its partner organisation, City Building (Glasgow)Wheatley has completed almost 1900 homes over the last three years and is building or planning up to 3000 more on 60 sites across Scotland. The new £185m EIB loan, along with future investments, will enable Wheatley to maintain a building programme of around 650 homes a year from 2021 to early 2025.Wheatley has completed almost 1900 homes over the last three years and is building or planning up to 3000 more on 60 sites across Scotland. The new £185m EIB loan, along with future investments, will enable Wheatley to maintain a building programme of around 650 homes a year from 2021 to early 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 the Scotland, with additional investment from UK wide programmes.