UK social-impact investment specialist Resonance has launched a homelessness social investment property fund and received initial capital commitments from the Greater London Authority (GLA) and social impact investor Big Society Capital.
The Resonance Everyone In Limited Partnership fund, which has an initial investment of £12.5m (€14.4m) and intends grow to £15m, providing around 50 homes in London, this year.
Resonance said the fund will partner with social landlord and charity Nacro to buy the affordable homes and leasing them to the charity.
Additionally, Nacro have secured funding from the GLA to provide a support service for four years to the service users living in the 50 properties.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: “My teams and their charity partners are working around the clock to help the most vulnerable people to work towards a life off the street – but this is only possible if there is high quality, affordable accommodation available at the end of their journey.
“The work being carried out by Resonance and Nacro will create the homes our fellow Londoners deserve and ensure they have access to the support they need to rebuild their lives.
John Williams, investment director and head of property funds at Resonance said: “This investment from the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, allows Resonance to extend its long running homelessness property fund initiative in London to help reach the specific and urgent need arising from the pandemic – helping provide move-on accommodation for individuals who have been temporarily housed in hotels and other emergency accommodation, and where there is now a historic opportunity to help prevent a return to the streets by providing a better way forward.”
Williams said impact investment in this area means that properties can be made available for the long run to help this need, and attract other investors who want to back solutions to meet these issues.
Campbell Robb, CEO of Nacro, said: “Too many people in London are without a safe, secure home, unable to plan for the future.
“At Nacro, we’re delighted to be working with the Everyone In partnership, to give people somewhere stable to live - along with extra support that can really make the difference.”
Wren Laing, investment director at Big Society Capital, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting Resonance in scaling a model that has a successful track record in tackling homelessness - raising £260m to date and providing over 800 homes across the UK.
“We look forward to seeing this fund expand their crucial work in addressing a growing issue which has been exacerbated by COVID-19.”
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