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To the rescue
MAY 29, 2020

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To the rescue

by Marek Handzel

Can private capital truly help alleviate Europe’s affordable housing crisis?

Judging by the manoeuvres of several managers over the last couple of years, the answer is an emphatic yes. Several have stepped in to launch new funds that either specifically, or partially, target affordable housing as the rising cost of housing has pushed increasing numbers of people out of city centres.

Investors seem to agree, too. In 2019, CBRE Global Investors secured £250 million (€319 million) from UK institutional investors for its social and affordable housing fund, which Hannah Marshall, the manager’s head of UK funds, called “the first of its type in the market”.

Managers have also been quick to deploy capital. A year after launching its new Affordable Housing business, Legal & General secured its first four affordable schemes last year, comprising 278 new homes spread across the south of the UK. The manager says that it wants to deliver 3,000 affordable home

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