£20m social investment property fund launches

The social investment firm Resonance has announced a new £20m fund to help those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The National Homelessness Property fund 2 (NHPF2) will initially focus on purchasing affordable homes in the Greater Manchester region.

It will work by acquiring properties and leasing them to the housing sector and homelessness charities to provide individuals and families at risk of homelessness with a settled home.

The fund will partner with Let Us, a group of registered housing providers in Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Big Society Capital, are its first investors,

It aims to grow to £100m, over its lifetime and provide around 870 affordable homes across the UK. It has already formed its first partnership with Let Us, who will offer safe and affordable homes to those at need across the Greater Manchester area.

‘With homelessness on the rise the need for safe, decent and affordable housing is great,’ said Resonance’s chief investment officer, Simon Chisholm.

‘In Greater Manchester alone over 80,000 people are on social housing waiting lists. Building on the success of our previous property funds Resonance is proud to launch our next social impact property fund, the National Homelessness Property fund 2 which will initially focus on purchasing affordable homes across the North West.

‘We are delighted that our first partnership is with Greater Manchester’s ethical lettings agent Let Us and that our initial investors into the fund Big Society Capital, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and – a first for a Resonance property fund, a pension fund investor, Greater Manchester Pension Fund – will enable the fund to make a real difference to people’s lives,’ he added.

The chair of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Cllr Brenda Warrington, added: ‘I am proud that the Greater Manchester Pension Fund is able to invest in the Resonance Homelessness Property fund 2.

‘It’s important to me that we are able to make a sound and socially impactful investment which will help provide much needed, affordable and refurbished accommodation for rent across Greater Manchester, whilst still generating a return for the pension fund, to enable it to meet the pension promises of our members, who mainly live and work in Greater Manchester.’

Photo Credit – Mastersenaiper (Pixabay)