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Investment management firm launches £400m fund with Homes England backing
A global investment management firm has announced the launch of a fund set up to invest in affordable housing with commitments from Homes England and multiple Local Government Pension Schemes.
Man Group’s private markets investment business, Man Global Private Markets (Man GPM), has held the first close of its £400m target raise for the Man GPM RI Community Housing Fund.
Homes England has invested £20m in the fund, which is the government housing delivery agency’s first investment in a closed-end fund.
Other investors in the fund include Big Society Capital, the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust, and the Swansea and Strathclyde local government pension schemes.
Man GPM said that the fund “seeks to achieve the dual objective of providing both financial returns alongside well-defined social and environment outcomes by accelerating the provision of new affordable homes in the United Kingdom”.
The fund aims to provide new homes across multiple rental and homeownership tenures and will focus on housing that is affordable to those earning the median income and below, including young families and key workers.
To date, the fund has committed to 363 new homes in England, with a target of 3,500 homes by 2026.
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In December last year, Man GPM announced its first transaction, a £31m deal with modular housing firm Ilke Homes for 227 homes to be used on a development in Lincolnshire.
The investment firm has also signed a £12m deal for the delivery of 41 homes in East Sussex and has acquired 95 homes from Crest Nicholson as part of a development in Cambridgeshire.
Man Group has investment £10m of its own capital in the fund, which will be marketed for a further 15 months or until capacity is reached.
Shamez Alibhai, head of community housing and portfolio manager at Man GPM, said: “This is an exciting milestone for our community housing strategy. With a shortage of quality affordable housing in the UK, we can help address this serious issue in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.
“Increasing the amount of socially responsible capital in the affordable housing space is good for communities and the people who live and work locally, but also for investors who are committed to achieving demonstrable returns and creating positive social and environmental change. We are pleased to be working with all our partners to deliver high-quality homes to those who need them.”
Eric Burl, head of Man GPM, said: “Our clients are increasingly viewing the investments they make through a socially and environmentally sustainable lens while also ensuring they achieve their return targets.
“We are very excited to launch the Man GPM RI Community Housing fund as a solution for clients to deliver on both their ESG and financial goals. As Man GPM continues to evolve and grow, we will continue to empower our investment teams to offer solutions to our clients that deliver real impact.”
Jeremy Rogers, chief investment officer at Big Society Capital, said: “We are pleased to partner with the Man GPM team on investments from both the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust and Big Society Capital. Alongside substantial experience delivering high-quality and affordable housing in the UK, Man has demonstrated a deep understanding of the needs of its frontline partners and customers.
“The Man GPM team have established a best-in-class impact management approach, implementing measures to ensure that they deliver and are accountable for their social and environmental impact at every stage of the investment process. The fund will target areas of significant housing need alongside generating resilient inflation-linked returns for investors.”
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