Irwell Valley Homes is a not-for-profit housing association, which provides homes and services for over 16,000 people across Greater Manchester.

The new funding facility will be used to help with the delivery of 1,260 new affordable homes, for social and affordable rent, plus supported housing, which will add to the associations existing portfolio. Around 260 of the new homes are already on site or have received planning approval, with a further 1,000 in the future pipeline of the development programme.

Irwell Valley Homes will also use the funding to improve and expand its existing homes and estates such as Sale West in Trafford, where work to build 79 new homes for social rent has begun.

Helen Nicholson, Executive Director of Finance and Governance at Irwell Valley Homes, said: “It has never been more important for people to have a safe, decent home and the demand for affordable housing continues to rise. We are delighted to have secured this funding to deliver our key strategic goal of building more homes to meet the growing needs of the communities we serve.

“Importantly, the terms agreed with Danske Bank will enable us to carry out fire remedial work on existing sites over the next two to three years. Danske Bank have been flexible and easy to work with and we have built a good relationship with them.”

As part of its strategic growth plans, Danske Bank is seeking new opportunities in the rest of the UK in a small number of sectors, including social housing.

Mark Canning, Head of the Corporate Relationship Team at Danske Bank, said: “We are delighted to have been able to provide this funding to Irwell Valley Homes and we look forward to seeing the association’s development programme taking shape over the next few years.

“Danske Bank has been the lead bank provider of finance to the social housing sector in Northern Ireland for many years. We are delighted to start 2021 with a significant transaction in England. As part of our strategic growth plans we will be more active in helping the sector across the rest of the UK moving forward.”