London CIV, the investment pool for 32 local government pension schemes, and The Church of England have made a combined £104m anchor commitment to Man Group’s Man RI Community Housing Fund 3 (Man CoHo 3).
This transaction marks the first close of Man CoHo 3 and the capital raised will help enable the development of more than 350 energy-efficient, affordable family homes in areas of constrained affordability across the UK.
Man Group is targeting an initial capital raise of £300m to fund the delivery of 1,000 homes over the next few years.
Christopher Osborne, head of real estate at London CIV, said: “Following extensive due diligence and negotiations on behalf of our partners funds, we are delighted to have committed capital into Man CoHo 3. This represents a compelling opportunity to partner with a quality manager in the affordable housing space, under the stewardship of Shamez Alibhai and his team.
“We look forward to Man CoHo 3 driving returns for our underlying partner funds and through its impact framework accelerating the delivery of much needed new and quality affordable homes in the UK.”
The Church of England is investing through its social impact investment programme, which is managed by the Archbishops’ Council and was established in 2020 to respond to the growing need for investment-based models to tackle social challenges in England, including the housing crisis.
Vanessa Morphet, head of social impact investment at the Archbishops’ Council, added: “Too many families are vulnerable to the UK’s housing crisis and are priced out of decent, stable homes in the communities where they want to live and work.
“Man Group’s community housing team have set clear and ambitious targets for the fund, including 90% affordable housing assets and significant improvements in the energy efficiency of homes. The team bring considerable expertise, a comprehensive impact assessment process, and excellent relationships with local authorities and housing associations and we look forward to what can be achieved to help address the significant need for new quality affordable homes.”
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