NEWS
Energy-conscious landlords offered cashback on new loan deals A specialist business bank is strengthening its proposition for portfolio landlords with a new Green Reward cashback offer.
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edwood Bank, based in Letchworth, is keen to support landlords who have already achieved EPC ratings of A-C. Any new loan deals completed on properties in these top three EPC ratings will be given a cash refund of up to 0.50% of the loan value.
Gary Wilkinson, CEO and CoFounder, said: “Although the Government’s plans to impose minimum EPC standards have been halted, there is growing pressure on landlords to make their properties more energy efficient. We want to be able to reward those customers who have attained the highest standards.”
The cashback will be calculated as •
A-rated property – 0.5 per cent of the loan value;
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B-rated – 0.4 per cent; and
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C-rated 0.2 per cent.
“The cashback will provide those landlords, looking for a new loan, who are energy-conscious, but are not yet at the most energy efficient level, an incentive to attain an improved EPC rating. We want to support those customers who have completed energy efficiency improvements and have the highest ratings of A-C. “We feel that in the current economic climate, receiving a cash lump sum would enable
customers to be able to put this to an immediate use as they see fit for their business. In some cases, the reward may aid customers looking to improve the EPC ratings of other properties in their possession. “We have always supported SMEs, and this is just another way we can help alleviate some of the pressures businesses are currently facing.” Rishi Sunak recently withdrew his plans to impose a minimum C rating – up from the current E rating – for all new tenancies from April 1, 2025. For further information, visit www.redwoodbank.co.uk
Staff from Welwyn-based food and drink business do shifts at local food bank The team at a Welwyn-based business have shown their dedication to supporting their local community by helping out at WD6 Food Support in Borehamwood.
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he marketing department at Grace Foods UK, the number one supplier of Caribbean food and drink to the UK, recently spent a day at Parkside Community Primary School in Borehamwood helping to distribute food to people visiting the food bank. The Grace Foods UK marketing team said: “As a team, we are really keen to do as much as we can to support our local community. We are aware how food banks such as WD6 Food Support are a key part of society these days and being a food and drink company, we want to be able to help as much as we can to ensure that every member of society has access to healthy, nutritious food.
visited us on the day that the Grace team visited, we probably fed somewhere in the region of 350 people.” Grace Foods UK has had its head office in Welwyn for 16 years. Its parent company GraceKennedy celebrated its centenary last year. Grace Foods brands and products are national favourites and include: market-leading Nurishment (nutritionally enriched milk drinks); Encona (hot pepper sauces); Grace, Dunn’s River and Caribbean Choice (Caribbean beverages and general grocery ranges). “It was truly amazing to see the hours of preparation that go into each day to set up all the stock at WD6. We assisted in transporting food around the site and helped to separate it into sections. We then all went to our stations and helped to give out the food to the patrons.
The organiser said they probably fed in the region of 350 people a day. We hope to be able to do more in the future with community projects. Talking about the support from Grace Foods UK, WD6 co-founder Janice Levine said “Thank you all for helping serve the 76 people who
The WD6 Food Support group launched in late 2020 and has a permanent home at Parkside Community Primary School in Borehamwood when twice a week, a former classroom is opened to the public to fill bags with a range of goods, just like a food bank. www.gracefoods.co.uk
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