Fife Housing Group aims to build new homes in area with £65m RBS facility

Fife Housing Group, which bills itself as one of the largest independent housing associations in the east of Scotland, has secured a £65 million funding package, future benefits of which include building “much-needed” homes.

The group completed its Crombie development (pictured) late last year. Picture: contributed.

The organisation, based in Dunfermline’s Pitreavie Business Park, has netted the facility from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), saying it will enable it to refinance its current debt, increase investment in its housing stock and continue to build new homes in Fife.

Fife Housing Group has almost 2,500 properties in communities from High Valleyfield in west Fife to Ceres in the east.

The organisation said the finance package will help contribute to the delivery of more than 90 new homes over the next two years, and it is eyeing a number of potential locations in Fife.

Fife Housing Group chief executive Nicki Donaldson commented on the boost, stating: “We are delighted to have secured this funding from Royal Bank of Scotland, which gives us the opportunity to further the aspirations we have for the business, and we look forward to working with the bank to deliver the new homes required to meet the ever-increasing demand for affordable housing.”

David Horne, relationship manager at RBS, said: “Fife Housing Group plays an important role in tackling the affordable housing shortage in Scotland, and Royal Bank of Scotland is proud to be able to support the business as it continues to create homes which are in such high demand.”

The housing group is the trading name for the legal company structure of Fife Housing Association – which has an annual turnover exceeding £11m and 65 staff based at its offices in Dunfermline.

Its subsidiary company Pact Enterprises owns 50 properties that are let at market rents.

The group said it has made “significant improvements to its performance in key areas over the past five years, and is now seeing this reflected in customer satisfaction levels”.

It completed its Crombie development late last year and said earlier this month that it was about to embark on an “exciting new development to ensure a continued supply of good quality homes for the community”.

Additionally, it has said that this year it aims to invest “heavily” in improvements to homes across Fife, including replacement roofs, upgrades to central heating systems, boiler replacements, smoke and heat detection systems, and kitchen and bathroom renewals.