Strathclyde Pension Fund is investing £30m (€34.1m) in UK affordable housing through a fund managed by Edmond de Rothschild’s real estate platform.

Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) said the UK local government pension scheme has committed the capital to Funding Affordable Homes, a fund which was valued at £133.9m at the end of September 2022. The fund’s portfolio currently comprises 768 existing homes across 10 projects. 

Edmond de Rothschild REIM said it expects to grow the fund to more than £500m.

Funding Affordable Homes, which is categorised as an Article 9 product under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, aims to deliver positive, tangible social impact through investment into, and development of, homes across the spectrum of affordable rent and ownership tenures, the manager said.

Ian Jamison, investment manager at Strathclyde Pension Fund, said: “We are delighted to be able to provide a commitment to the Funding Affordable Homes strategy and to contribute towards the development of additional, much-needed affordable homes in the UK while also benefitting from attractive long-term returns for our pension members.

“We were attracted to the track records and complementary expertise of the teams at Funding Affordable Homes and Edmond de Rothschild and are looking forward to working with them and potential other investors as the fund grows.”

Tim Holden, the head of residential UK at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, said Strathclyde Pension Fund’s commitment is ”a significant step in the growth of the fund and affirms our conviction that the UK residential sector continues to offer attractive opportunities for long-term investors seeking to achieve appropriate financial returns whilst delivering meaningful social impact by helping to alleviate the UK housing market shortage”.

”We are continuing our efforts to secure further capital from domestic and international institutional investors to help deliver more homes for residents and local communities across the UK.” 

Adrian D’Enrico, affordable housing fund manager at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, said: “This is a positive step in the growth of Funding Affordable Homes and confirms our conviction that affordable housing offers a compelling opportunity for long-term investors such as UK institutions.

“With an acute affordable housing shortfall, there is an increasing acceptance that private capital can help deliver much-needed new homes, whilst delivering long-term, inflation-aligned income streams. We look forward to swiftly deploying the newly committed capital against our strong pipeline of opportunities and further growing the fund for the benefit of investors and residents alike.”

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