Savills Investment Management’s open-ended core UK affordable housing fund added 94 affordable rental and shared ownership properties in Oxfordshire to its portfolio.
Savills IM’s Simply Affordable Homes fund has made its second purchase with the acquisition of the homes in Bicester from a local developer.
The 94 homes are part of a 143-unit diversified portfolio of affordable rental and shared ownership properties. Savills IM will acquire the remaining 49 units, with completion expected between now and the end of the year. Financial details were undisclosed.
Savills IM launched its affordable homes fund in April last year with Samsung Life Insurance, London CIV, Big Society Capital, Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust and Savills PLC investing £123m (€147m) in the fund, marking the fund’s first close.
Dominic Curtis, fund manager for the Simply Affordable Homes Fund, Savills IM, said: “The transaction gives us an immediate exposure to Oxfordshire, where our strong deal sourcing network has delivered a high-quality portfolio in an attractive, growth-potential location.
“It allows us to provide our high-quality services to our customers from day one, further advancing our strategy of investing in properties that deliver both social impact and attractive returns for our investors.”
Keith Exford, chairman of Simply Affordable Homes RP, said: “Simply Affordable Homes has been set up to help address the housing crisis by attracting long-term private investment capital into the provision of more affordable homes for those in need.
“Today marks another step in our evolution where we expand our geographic coverage and provide a positive impact to more customers with the provision of high-quality homes and services.”
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