Allen & Overy said today the GBP2.6 billion refinancing, in relation to the combination of housing associations L&Q and East Thames, represents a significant moment in the UK’s social housing sector. Together the organisations create a combined entity that owns and manages over 90,000 homes across the UK.

L&Q and East Thames share a vision to create 100,000 new homes, a new training academy, a new community foundation and a care and support subsidiary in London and south-east England over the next decade. The refinancing enables the new organisation to adopt a more efficient and streamlined approach to meet its strategic objectives.

A&O advised L&Q and East Thames with respect to their existing bonds, bank debt and derivatives in relation to the combination and refinancing.  The team included London finance partners Geoff Fuller and Greg Brown, counsel Beth Collett and associate Kathryn Barnes.

“This transaction will play a significant role in the future success of the new organisation,” said Geoff. “Consolidation in the housing association space has been a theme of the last few years, due to the unprecedented challenges the sector faces. The combination and refinancing means that the new L&Q group’s capacity to build new homes and help thousands of people in the UK is massively increased, and crucially, is far greater than what the individual organisations could have achieved separately.”