UK pensions provider Legal & General has provided £100 mln (€120 mln) of long term debt financing to its affordable housing business, in a bid to expand the exposure of UK pension money to the sector.
A further £175 mln of development finance is being provided by a consortium of external investors to support the delivery of its current pipeline of 3,500 homes.
Nigel Wilson, CEO of Legal & General, said: 'We have already directly invested over £22 bn into new homes, urban regeneration, clean energy and transport infrastructure. Bringing in pension fund capital gives us the scope to do even more.'
The financial group's affordable housing business, which was established in 2018, started delivering a mix of social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership homes in 2019. Legal & General said it was on target to create 3,000 homes each year by 2023, working in partnership with 14 established housing associations and providers.
'There is an urgent need to provide stable homes for millions of households on waiting lists,' said Simon Century, head of affordable housing at Legal & General. 'This investment from Legal & General retirement will help us further bolster this pipeline.'
