Supporting Maple and May Limited to deliver Northern Ireland’s first affordable rent pilot

• The Client: Maple and May Limited, part of the Choice Housing Group
• The Challenge: Delivering the Department for Communities’ new affordable rent pilot scheme in Northern Ireland
• The Outcome: The pilot is now underway, with the first tranche of funding drawn and sites moving ahead. The funding will directly support the delivery of 300 new affordable homes.

Maple and May Limited, part of Choice Housing Group, was selected to deliver the Department for Communities (DfC)’s new affordable rent pilot scheme in Northern Ireland. We advised on the funding and security structure, the bespoke funding documentation and the first drawdown. The pilot will support the delivery of 300 new affordable homes at rents 20% below local market rates, backed by a £61.54m loan from DfC and £10.86m investment from Choice.

The challenge

Until this pilot, Northern Ireland had a significant gap between social housing and market rent. For individuals and families who could not access social housing but could not afford private market rents, there was limited affordable rental provision available. The new pilot was designed to help address that gap by supporting the delivery of 300 high-quality, longer-term affordable homes.

The scheme was also legally and commercially complex. It was a first of its kind arrangement in Northern Ireland, with a five-year development phase and a 25-year operating period alongside a 25-year loan term. This meant the documentation needed to work not only at completion and first drawdown, but across a long-term arrangement where regulation, ministerial priorities and market conditions could change.

Maple and May Limited and its parent, Choice Housing Ireland Limited, needed legal advisers who could go beyond negotiating documents. They needed support to shape the funding structure from the outset, protect their position over the life of the scheme and ensure the arrangement remained workable for the client, the funder and the wider public purpose behind the pilot.

The solution

Anthony Collins advised Maple and May Limited and Choice Housing Ireland Limited on the structure of the funding and security arrangements, drawing on our experience in project finance and real estate finance. Our role included supporting the heads of terms, advising on the funding instrument and associated documentation, project managing completion of the bespoke funding and security documents and helping the client reach first drawdown.

The matter required close collaboration with Department for Communities, its legal advisers and Northern Irish property advisors. Internally, the project involved Tom Corrigan, Jon Coane, Mike Nutman and Joe Mulrenan, with input across the Funding, Corporate and Projects teams.

A key part of our advice was ensuring the documentation worked for Maple and May Limited and Choice Housing Ireland Limited at both executive and board level. This included helping the client understand the risks arising from a long-term arrangement and putting in place mechanisms to deal with future uncertainty, including exit routes, dispute resolution and the impact of changes in law, regulation or government policy.

We also advised on the security structure. The initial position risked limiting the client’s ability to refinance or exit the scheme cleanly, even if the loan was repaid. We supported the client in negotiating a more balanced security package that protected the funder’s position without undermining Maple and May Limited and Choice Housing Ireland Limited’s ability to operate effectively.

Another important workstream was ensuring the funding documentation aligned with the construction and development arrangements. Working with the relevant advisers, we helped ensure the documents dovetailed properly so the client would not be placed at risk of technical breach because of how the homes were being developed, built and delivered under the scheme.

The impact

The pilot is now underway, with the first tranche of funding drawn and sites moving ahead. The funding will directly support the delivery of 300 new affordable homes, helping more than 1,200 people access secure, high-quality housing at rents 20% below local market rates.

The transaction also helps establish a new affordable rental model for Northern Ireland. While the pilot itself is limited to 300 homes, the structure has the potential to inform wider affordable rent delivery if the model proves successful.

For Maple and May Limited and Choice Housing Ireland Limited, Anthony Collins added value by helping the client move from a new and unfamiliar policy model to a documented, deliverable and fundable scheme. Our advice supported the board with accessible risk analysis, helped the client take informed commercial positions in discussions with government and ensured the funding structure was robust enough to support the scheme over the long term.