Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management, the real estate platform of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, announces that it has secured a £30 mln (€34 mln) commitment from Strathclyde Pension Fund into Funding Affordable Homes, a UK affordable housing fund.
Funding Affordable Homes invests in the UK affordable housing sector, aiming to increase the number of affordable homes, deliver positive social impact and providing progressive returns to its investors. The fund’s portfolio, alued at £133.9 mln at 30 September 2022, currently comprises 768 existing homes across 10 projects, offering affordable homes to up to 1,300 people across the UK.
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, head of residential UK at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, said: 'We are pleased to welcome Strathclyde Pension Fund into the Funding Affordable Homes Fund.
'The 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.'
Funding Affordable Homes is an Article 9 “dark green” fund under SFDR classification and works closely with The Good Economy, a leading specialist in impact measurement and management.
Edmond de Rothschild REIM expects to grow the Fund to more than £500 mln, to deliver 2-3,000 affordable homes across the UK.
Adrian D’Enrico, fund manager, Affordable Housing at Edmond de Rothschild REIM, added: '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.'
