Places for People have secured a Scottish Government loan funding of £47.5 million for their proposal to deliver 1,000 new mid-market rent homes throughout Scotland.
Places for People have set up a residential real estate fund, PfP Capital, with the aim of supporting people on low and modest incomes in accessing high quality accommodation at affordable rent levels.
£150 million mid-market rent investment
PfP Capital are targeting a total fund size of £150 million. With the loan from the Scottish Government and an initial £10 million equity investment from Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, PfP Capital are looking to raise an additional £87.5 million capital from third parties in the coming months. The focus will be on attracting institutional and pension fund investors, including Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS). Investors are expected to benefit from index-linked returns derived from the rental income.
Commenting on the news, Chris Jones Managing Director at PfP Capital said: “This investment will allow us to operate a strategy delivering a significant number of affordable homes to people across Scotland and we are delighted to work with the Scottish Government on this exciting initiative. This fund will also provide a great opportunity for institutional investors to fund the next generation of Scotland’s affordable homes and secure stable, inflation-linked returns.”
Richard Jennings, Managing Director at Castle Rock Edinvar, added: “This fund demonstrates the importance of financial innovation in delivering affordable homes and Castle Rock Edinvar is delighted to be an early investor. We are looking forward to working with Places for People Group colleagues at PfP Capital and making it a success.”
Helping to meet the government’s target
The fund is being operated as a Scottish Limited Partnership (SLP), with a number of safeguards in place providing transparency on the fund’s operations.
It will contribute to the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver 50,000 affordable homes by 2021.
“This investment (…) is one of the many ways in which we are delivering on our target of 50,000 affordable homes by 2021, backed by over £3 billion”, said Housing Minister Kevin Stewart.
He continued: “Affordable housing is about more than just bricks and mortar. We want everyone to have a safe, warm home and schemes like this will help to create a fairer Scotland, while delivering great economic benefits.”
To identify suitable mid-market rent investment opportunities, PfP Capital have appointed Rettie & Co, whose expertise “makes them a natural fit as advisors to PfP Capital’s mid-rent fund” (Chris Jones).
