Upcoming Events :
Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
M&G to launch first social housing debt and development fund
Tue 01 Mar 2011
M&G Investments is looking to support social housing development schemes in the UK by launching a social housing debt fund of up to £100m.
The fund will be structured as an Irish Qualified Investor Fund and managed by M&G in London. It is aimed at institutional investors and pension funds providing funding to large social housing registered providers as an alternative to bank or bond financing.
Bernard Abrahamsen, head of institutional sales and distribution at M&G Investments, believes the social housing sector offers a number of good opportunities.
Speaking to Global Pensions, he stated that this is partly because tighter regulation has made banks more reluctant to allow residential social landlords to obtain long-term loans.
Mr Abrahamsen said pension funds and institutional investors are well placed to fill the void, as the social housing market fits them "like a tailored glove".
He added that the sector is "looking for a new source of finance and with a natural link to inflation".
The idea has also been hailed by William Nicoll, fixed income director at M&G, who told Financial News that pension funds will be a "good match" with the social housing market.
James Duncan, funds partner at Winckworth Sherwood, commented that this is a major development in the alternative investment market by allowing non-bank investors to directly access the long term returns expected from investment in the social housing sector.
Winckworth Sherwood partner Louise Leaver, who specialises in social housing finance, further added: "This is a very exciting opportunity for M&G to fill the gap between traditional bank funding and capital markets issues and will be an important source of alternative funding for registered providers in a difficult market."
