The agreement with the executive public body, which is sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, will be used by Sigma to “materially scale up” the delivery of self-funded new rental properties.

The initial funding is for a £45m revolving credit facility, which will be used by Sigma to materially scale up the delivery of self-funded new rental homes. The company, which has an office in Edinburgh, expects the new facility to support a self-funded portfolio with a total gross development cost in excess of £60m.

Sigma said its PRS platform, comprising building, letting and funding partners, was a key component in reaching the agreement since it enables the delivery of new homes at scale and at a faster rate than is typical for a market-to-sale build.

The company has delivered approximately 800 new family homes for rent, through its managed or self-funded activities, since November 2014. A further 1,300 new rental properties are currently at various stages of the construction process.

Graham Barnet, chief executive of Sigma, said: “I am delighted to announce this major new funding agreement with the HCA, which has grown out of our long standing work in regeneration with our local authority partners and the continuing expansion of our PRS platform which is delivering family housing in the UK.

“We are very pleased to be joining forces with the HCA to accelerate the number of high quality new build rental homes we can deliver and which will be directly owned by us. This additional resource, alongside our other funding partners, will help to realise our ambitions to deliver PRS housing across all of the key economic regions in the UK.”