The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has announced the first investment in a new fund that will enable more flexible terms to heritage projects in Wales as funding from Cadw will inaugurate the 50th Anniversary Fund with a £500,000 investment.
AHF writes:
In the month we celebrate 50 years since offering our first social investment loan, the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is thrilled to announce the first investment in a new fund that will enable more flexible terms to heritage projects in Wales. This funding from Cadw will inaugurate the 50th Anniversary Fund at the AHF with a £500,000 investment. The 50th Anniversary Fund will enable the AHF to offer longer-term loans that support communities to acquire neglected historic buildings. We hope through this funding to support communities in Wales to take ownership of historic buildings, to conserve them so they remain beautiful witnesses to Wales’ rich history, and to adapt them for vibrant uses needed today so they continue to be part of the country’s future. This new fund will offer bespoke terms tailored to the unique circumstances of buildings and community groups, and will be available to be recycled in perpetuity, so that many different projects are able to be saved and brought into secure community ownership and use over the decades to come.
Welcoming the first investment in this new fund, from Cadw, AHF’s Chief Executive, Matthew Mckeague said: ‘This year the AHF celebrates our 50th anniversary, but it also marks 40 years since our first loan to a project in Wales – the Mill House in Pontcanna Fields near Cardiff. Since then, we have supported more than 20 additional heritage projects across Wales with social investment loans, from the Bishop’s Park at Abergwili to Cardigan Market Hall. Am therefore especially delighted to announce the inaugural investment in our Anniversary Fund by Cadw, one of our most valued partners, and hope that others may be inspired to invest in this fund too. Recyclable loan financing offers the ability for a one-time investment to have lasting impact, and we look forward to celebrating the buildings that will be saved and given new purpose in the years to come thanks to this funding.’
The AHF’s Director of Investment, Asha Karbhari, said: ‘Thanks to this investment from Cadw, the Architectural Heritage Fund will be able to continue supporting projects across Wales for the long term. The 50th Anniversary Fund introduces much-needed flexibility, enabling more projects to access timely and appropriate investment for acquisitions. With Wales’s vibrant lending landscape, we hope to see a growing variety of projects revitalising historic buildings and adapting them to meet today’s social and economic needs.’
Jack Sargeant, the Welsh Government Minister responsible for Cadw, said: ‘Wales has an extraordinary wealth of historic buildings that tell the story of our nation and bring communities together. This £500,000 investment in the Architectural Heritage Fund’s 50th Anniversary Fund reflects our commitment to ensuring that heritage is not just preserved, but truly alive and serving the communities around it. By providing flexible, long-term financing, we can help community groups across Wales take ownership of the historic buildings they love – breathing new life into them for generations to come. I look forward to seeing the projects this fund will help save and celebrate.’
