RPs should approach loan guarantees as a structural tool rather than a cost shortcut

The strongest current opportunities for the use of these guarantees in the sector are:

• To recapitalise RPs to help release their embedded value
• Vehicle-level guarantees to support delivery at scale across regions or tenures
• Targeted, contingent guarantees to unlock stalled or complex schemes, with a focus on London

Writing in Social Housing, Gows Shugumaran identified that the providers best placed to benefit are those that can articulate a clear delivery proposition, demonstrate robust governance and present a disciplined balance-sheet strategy showing how guarantee-backed capital fits within a credible long-term funding plan.