Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has secured an ENABLE Build guarantee via the British Business Bank and The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC).

It follows HTB’s previous ENABLE Guarantee, agreed in 2017, which has so far provided £342m in SME housebuilder funding and supported the building of 1547 new housing units.

The new guarantee means HTB can continue to grow its support to small business housebuilders across the UK.

The British Business Bank’s ENABLE Build is a variant of its ENABLE Guarantee programme and targets SME housebuilders by reducing the amount of capital required to be held against such lending by the participating bank. Under both the ENABLE Guarantee and ENABLE Build programmes, the UK government takes on a portion of the lender’s risk on a portfolio of loans to smaller businesses, in return for a fee.

ENABLE Build was launched as a separate variant of the ENABLE Guarantee to provide £1bn of guaranteed support to smaller housebuilders. In the 12 months to March 2022 the ENABLE Build programme supported over £330m of lending to more than 130 small housebuilders.

Reinald de Monchy, managing director, guarantee and wholesale solutions, British Business Bank, said: “Increasing the current housebuilding supply in the UK is a priority for decision-makers across local and national governments. This ENABLE Build transaction will allow HTB to increase funding to SME housebuilders, helping them deliver more housing and allowing more people to get onto the property ladder.”

Alex Upton (pictured), managing director – development finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, added: “We all know that building houses in the UK is dominated by a handful of gigantic players but SME housebuilders are vital, not only for our market but also for our communities and our country as a whole. They are often the beating heart of regional and local property markets and they provide a harbour for the training and development of design, craftmanship and skill in the battle against homogeneity.

“But SME housebuilders have faced some stiff headwinds. The ENABLE Build guarantee shows great commitment from the British Business Bank to support SME housebuilders. We are confident that HTB will be able to support an increased number of SME housebuilders to improve housing supply, create employment and stimulate local economies across the country.”