LHV Bank has completed its first direct loan in the social housing sector with a five-year buy-to-let facility supporting the growth of property developer Vital Homes.
The facility refinances two existing homes in the North West leased to a social housing charity, releasing equity to enable the acquisition of additional sites.
The properties, located in Wallasey and Birkenhead, were originally acquired and refurbished by Vital Homes using bridging finance. Founded in 2022 by James Levy and Elena Pashevkina, the company has quickly built a £6.5 million portfolio focused on housing vulnerable groups, including prison leavers, survivors of domestic abuse and people with disabilities.
Vital Homes leases its high-quality homes to local authorities and charities, providing stable accommodation for individuals transitioning to independent living. The new facility from LHV Bank consolidates the original short-term debt and gives the business the headroom to continue its growth plans.
The transaction was led by Edwin Yamoah, lending director at LHV Bank, and moved from credit approval to drawdown in just 31 calendar days. The bank’s willingness to consider the strength of the lease agreements and work with a specialist valuer outside its standard panel was key to completing the deal at the required leverage. Despite a higher-than-usual loan to vacant possession value, LHV lent against market value to support the long-term income profile of the assets.
Levy and Pashevkina launched Vital Homes with a mission to address gaps in mainstream housing provision. Their model, which blends high refurbishment standards with social impact goals, has not always fitted neatly into traditional lending criteria.
“There’s often a disconnect between what communities need and what traditional property finance is set up to support,” said Pashevkina. “That’s why working with a lender who sees the bigger picture is so important.”
Levy added that the support from LHV Bank came with a deep understanding of the business model. “They didn’t try to force our model into a standard box, but took the time to understand how we work,” he said.
The deal is part of a growing trend for LHV Bank, which has reported increasing demand from specialist and impact-led borrowers across its SME lending division. In a separate transaction earlier this year, the bank completed a £5 million facility to refinance two care home assets operated by a charitable supported living provider.
Conor McDermott (pictured), director of SME lending at LHV Bank, said the bank is working with more clients looking to build resilient, socially valuable portfolios rather than pursuing purely speculative growth.
“Our partnership-led approach really comes into its own in these scenarios,” he said. “We’re here to offer support that’s grounded in the real world, and to move quickly when a deal deserves it.”
