Gresham House Residential Secure Income (GH ReSI LP), a limited partnership investing in affordable shared ownership homes in the UK, has raised a further £125m (€145.6m) from two UK local authority pension schemes.
The commitments from Gloucestershire and Devon Pension Funds have brought total commitments to GH ReSI LP to more than £310m, with investors increasingly seeking investments that can deliver ”robust, inflation-linked income streams” while having ”a positive impact”, the fund’s manager Gresham House said.
As well as committing to the UK-wide strategy, both Gloucestershire and Devon Pension Funds have made additional commitments for local investment which will deliver new affordable housing for local residents in their counties - helping to build thriving and inclusive local communities, they said.
This new capital is expected to leverage around £300m of investment into more than 1,000 new affordable homes, building on the 1,400 homes that GH ReSI LP has already invested in through 18 acquisitions across England.
GH ReSI LP is an evergreen UK limited partnership that was launched in May 2021 to invest in the delivery of shared ownership housing through its wholly owned registered provider of social housing, ReSI Homes.
The fund is focused on providing investors with stable and secure long-term income returns that contractually rise with inflation, and fulfilling ”a key societal need by lowering the lifetime cost of housing for those on lower to middle incomes”, such as young families and key workers through making new energy efficient homes affordable and accessible.
The manager added that with all previous commitments already invested and a strong pipeline of opportunities, the new capital will be deployed “at pace” over the coming months. GH ReSI LP has previously received commitments from several other UK institutional investors, including Staffordshire and Wiltshire pension funds and Centrica Combined Common Investment Fund.
Ben Fry, managing director, housing at Gresham House, said: “This continued strong backing from institutional investors is testament to Gresham House’s extensive expertise and track record in affordable housing, and the growing recognition of the dual benefits that shared ownership investments can deliver - resilient inflation-linked income and lowering the lifetime cost of housing for young families and key workers.
”We have a wealth of opportunities in the pipeline, so we will be putting this new capital to use over the coming months to deliver more new developments both across the UK and specifically in Gloucestershire and Devon.”
Councillor Lynden Stowe, chair of the Gloucestershire Pension Fund, said: “The pension fund has recently implemented a new allocation to affordable housing and believes that shared ownership will provide both financial and positive impact benefits.
”Through this commitment to shared ownership we will contribute to the delivery of much-needed new housing for our residents in Gloucestershire.”
Councillor James Morrish, chair of the Devon Investment and Pension Fund Committee, said: “We are delighted to be making this significant contribution to GH ReSI LP, which will deliver stable long-term returns for our members while supporting the provision of vital new housing in Devon, where affordability is often an acute challenge.
”The experience of the Gresham House team makes this strategy particularly attractive, and we look forward to seeing the impact of our investment in the local area over the coming years.”
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