Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of insurer Aviva, has completed a £80 mln (€92.7 mln) investment in Cross Keys Homes, a social housing association based in Peterborough, the UK.
The investment has been made on behalf of Aviva UK Life’s annuity business and means Aviva Investors has now invested almost £360 mln in social housing providers across the UK in 2022.
Cross Keys Homes will use the funding to support its ongoing growth and development plans, including the building of its flagship scheme in Northminster, which will provide 315 affordable homes.
The investment fits in with Aviva Investors’ goal to create positive societal impacts by supporting projects which address the critical undersupply of social rent housing in the UK.
In October, the asset manager published a whitepaper on the ESG considerations of social housing, which highlighted the need to tackle the shortage of social rent homes.
Munawer Shafi, head of structured & private debt at Aviva Investors, said: ‘We are very pleased to have completed this private placement with Cross Keys Homes and to have increased our investment into the development of more social housing projects across the UK.
‘Social housing remains an important area of investment within our private debt business, not only for the risk-adjusted returns it offers investors, but also its ability to create positive outcomes at a societal level. It is this dual ability to provide robust cashflows whilst also having an impact within local communities which makes it an attractive area for us to increase our exposure to and our clients are, quite rightly, recognising its value and importance.’
Marcus Mollan, annuity asset origination director at Aviva UK Life, added: ‘As one of the UK’s largest insurers, we are aware of the power our investment activities can have. Therefore, we believe it’s vitally important we are able to access investments which will not only provide us with sufficient investment performance to meet ongoing liabilities, but that can also reflect our desire to have a positive wider impact, whether at a societal, environmental or sustainability level.’
