Octopus Real Estate completes £8.2m loan to leading sustainable housebuilder Verto for zero carbon homes in Exeter

By Bridging Loan Directory 4th October 2022

Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Group and a leading UK specialist real estate lender and investor, has provided an £8.2m loan facility to Verto, leading sustainable housebuilder and creator of the internationally acclaimed Zero Carbon Smart Home™.

The facility will finance the development of 30 open market homes and four discounted market-sale affordable homes in Exeter, Devon.

A further six social rented affordable homes will be delivered on the site in partnership with Sovereign Housing Association.

All homes in the Pinhoe Village development will be built to Verto’s exacting zero carbon specification. Verto’s Zero Carbon Smart Homes™ produce their own renewable energy through photovoltaic solar panels integrated into the roof.

All homes are equipped with triple-glazed argon-filled windows and super-insulation – which result in almost zero heat loss or noise pollution.

Homes use a zonal underfloor heating system, so that only rooms in use are heated, and instead of conventional gas boilers, they use ground-source heat pumps (GSHP) and air-source heat pumps (ASHP), which quietly absorb ambient heat from the ground or outside air and move it inside.

The homes have predicted EPC ratings as high as A120; 30% greater than the minimum rating for an EPC A, which is 92.

A rating of 120 will result in these homes having a dwelling emission rate of negative 2.0 tonnes per annum. For context, the average dwelling emission rate is 6.0 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

Andy Scott, Head of Residential Development, Octopus Real Estate, commented:

“It is the responsibility of the property finance sector to play its part in supporting developers in helping the country meet net zero targets by providing suitable eco-efficient homes for future generations.

At Octopus Real Estate it is so important to us that we can support the development of homes which aim to reach the highest green standards as possible.

This Verto Homes scheme is pushing the boundaries of energy efficiency, so we’re excited to be a part of this development.”

Tom Carr, Co-Founder, Verto Homes added:

“Our goal at Verto is to change the way we live by changing the homes we live in.

We will be building a range of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom Zero Carbon Smart Homes™, and Exeter, with its own city-wide zero carbon aspirations, made perfect sense for this development.

We were delighted to partner with Octopus on this deal; the team are aligned with our values and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”