Tailored and flexible loan finance of between £25,000 and £500,000 is available for up to 5 years to support the acquisition, reuse or redevelopment of buildings that are of historic or architectural importance and to provide social and economic benefits to local communities across the UK.
The Architectural Heritage Fund’s Heritage Impact Fund is a social investment loan fund designed to provide tailored and flexible loan finance to enable not-for-profit, charitable organisations and community businesses to deliver economic and social impact from the reimagining and reuse of the UK’s historic buildings.
Loans can be used to acquire, reuse or redevelop buildings which are of historic or architectural importance. This can include historic buildings that may be particularly significant to a community, is a listed building, or is in a conservation area.
Applicants will be expected to demonstrate how their project will be financially viable at the end of the Architectural Heritage Fund’s loan term. The Architectural Heritage Fund will help lenders to evaluate and assess the impact of their project. Additional expert support, advice and mentoring to applicants is also available to applicants to support sustainable business change and help deliver long-term social and economic impact.
Loans of £25,000 to £500,000 are available for up to 5 years. Interest rates are competitive but flexible and can include both capital and interest repayment holidays. Secured and unsecured loans are available, with a preference for some form of security, generally a first legal charge. Incentivised terms are available to provide greater assistance to those organisations and projects that will deliver enhanced local economic and community impact.
Please note that loan finance is not available for churches or other places of worship, where the building will remain in use primarily as a place of religious worship. There are quite a long list of exclusions, including local authorities and other public sector bodies.
To apply, eligible organisations should complete an Expression of Interest form, which is available on the Architectural Heritage Fund website under the "Apply for funding" heading.
An Expression of Interest may be made at any time. Once AHF have reviewed the Expression of Interest, one of its officers will contact the applicant to discuss their project in more detail with the aim of determining eligibility and if repayable finance is right for the project.