Securing grants

We are the lead member of the Sovereign Development Consortium, which secures grants from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) on behalf of our members and the other 10 Consortium members, in order to fund affordable housing.

The Sovereign Development Consortium secured almost £45 million of grants in 2008-2009, substantially more than the previous total of £52 million over two years. Our funding comes from the Homes and Communities Agency and financial institutions.

The funding we receive from the HCA covers around a third of the cost of building new homes. We secure the remainder of our funding from financial institutions. More recently we have issued a bond on the stock exchange.

Maintaining activity in the market

Sovereign has played a vital role in ensuring the continued viability of the home building industry during the recession. We have worked closely with developers, taking on more affordable homes, and have been supported in this by the Homes and Communities Agency. In December 2008, we entered into 12 contracts to deliver 247 new homes, helping our partners to keep their programmes on track, and retain their skilled teams.

We have developed a range of solutions for developments affected by falling property prices, including conversion to market, sub market or social rent. Our approach has been supported by our local authority partners, and by the HCA.