CBRE Global Investors said on Wednesday that it has raised a further £120 mln (€139 mln) of equity for its UK Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) having deployed the majority of the £250 mln of initial capital raised in 2019, significantly ahead of its commitment period.
With its latest capital raise for the open-ended fund, CBRE said that there is scope to deliver over 2,000 homes as projects are completed and occupied.
A number of UK LGPS investors, such as Hampshire County Council Pension Fund, Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund, Wiltshire Pension Fund, Surrey County Council Pension Scheme, Bedfordshire Pension Fund and Royal Borough of Greenwich Pension Fund, were early in the process to support the investment proposition.
To date AHF has made 12 investments across the UK and is currently in advanced due diligence for a further five investments. Recent transactions include the forward funding of 245-home Abbey Place scheme, South East London being developed by HUB and Bridges Fund Management, the acquisition of the affordable element of 50 homes at a development in Slough Town Centre and the forward funding of a scheme of 121 shared-ownership and affordable-rented homes in Fugglestone Red, Salisbury.
These latest transactions continue the open-ended fund’s strategy of investing in high-quality affordable rental, PRS, shared-ownership, keyworker and temporary accommodation schemes, working together with housing associations.
Fund manager for AHF, DJ Dhananjai commented: ‘We continue to seek out opportunities as we look to deploy the next £120 mln of commitments into this sector, which increasingly appeals to our clients as their sustainability and social goals are achieved in a demonstrable and transparent way.’
‘The fund combines attractive return* characteristics for investors seeking stable returns over the very long-term and a consistent income profile along with a social conscience,’ added Alice Wilcox, head of LGPS Partnerships, CBRE Global Investors.
