Long Harbour has secured a £300m (€358m) equity commitment from South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) for its Single Family Housing Fund.

The fund intends to enter into forward funding, forward purchases and the acquisition of existing new-build family homes across the UK, with a focus on the South and South East of England.

Long Harbour said the commitent would allow it make initial deployment target of up to £600m in single-family housing assets.

The seed funding round has now closed and the next fundraising close is expected this year.

William Astor, chief executive at Long Harbour, said: “With over a decade of experience of investing and managing single-family housing, we have delivered outstanding returns for our investors from this asset class. Our successful exit from previous single family assets in 2022 marked a significant milestone, and we are excited to launch our latest dedicated single family housing fund at this opportune moment.

“We are particularly pleased to have secured this funding agreement with such a prominent global investment partner as NPS, who recognise Long Harbour’s track record and commitment to growing our single-family housing portfolio and the value of this asset class.”

Jack Spearman, managing director at Long Harbour, said: “Our ambition through the launch of this fund is to address the undersupply of high quality, energy efficient and modern, suburban housing in the UK. Currently, three million UK rental households live in low quality, poorly managed suburban homes. There needs to be better rental options for those who cannot afford to buy or choose to rent. We look forward to playing a role in helping to meet this need and to assist the government with its target to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.”

David Yoon, portfolio manager at NPS, said: “Our investment in the creation of a platform, designed specifically to deliver new and sustainable single-family homes in the UK, will assist in addressing the chronic undersupply of high-quality homes across the country. We intend to generate significant benefits for both housing providers and prospective tenants, while providing stable and long-term returns.”

To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.