Funding Affordable Homes is looking to raise £500m to invest in affordable housing, following a milestone acquisition in Canary Wharf.
The social impact company has acquired Island Point from City Pride for £28.5m.
Following the deal, it has instructed its property adviser, Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management, to grow the affordable housing fund to more than £500m in two years.
FAH is backed by Big Society Capital and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It has already bought or committed to £170m of housing projects in London, the south and the east of England, largely through forward funding deals.
The Island Point scheme comprises 173 homes at 443-451 Westferry Road. It has a mix of one- to five-bedroom flats under various affordable tenures, with 109 social rented homes, 33 affordable rented homes and 31 shared ownership homes.
It was designed by Squire & Partners and developed by Chalegrove Properties. The homes will be managed by housing association Poplar HARCA.
James Whidborne, head of residential fund management in the UK at Edmond de Rothschild, said: “The asset is a milestone for Funding Affordable Homes, representing close to 20% of its rental income and providing a solid platform from which we now aim to raise additional capital.
“Given the merits of the sector, from both a social impact and returns perspective, our aspirations are now to grow the fund to in excess of £500m within two years.”
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