Savills expands Simply Affordable Homes portfolio

Savills Investment Management’s Simply Affordable Homes fund has acquired a portfolio of 105 homes in Oxfordshire from Blenheim Estates, constructed by Pye Homes. The acquisition was made through its for-profit registered provider, Simply Affordable Homes. The operational homes are a mixture of intermediate market rent and shared ownership tenures and form part of a wider housing development in the area. Simply Affordable Homes now manages 367 affordable rent, intermediate rent and shared-ownership homes, with assets in the South of England, East of England and the Midlands.  The fund was launched in April last year, with equity commitments from institutional investors including the LGPS Investment pool London CIV, Better Society Capital, Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust and Savills. Savills IM now manages €26.2bn (£22bn) of assets in the living, industrial and logistics, debt, natural capital, office and retail sectors across the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Dominic Curtis, fund manager for the Simply Affordable Homes Fund at Savills IM, said: “This acquisition is an excellent addition to the fund. The portfolio is of very high quality and delivers a significant social impact to our residents, with average rent levels close to 60% of market rent. This latest transaction further demonstrates our ability to source high quality assets with leading ESG credentials and it provides investors with immediate and defensive income in a sector where the role of institutional capital is increasingly important to bringing much needed new product to market.” Keith Exford, chairman of Simply Affordable Homes, added: “Our third acquisition for Simply Affordable Homes exemplifies our commitment to the provision of high-quality and energy-efficient housing that is both affordable and readily available for local communities experiencing undersupply. By funding the delivery of these homes, we are bringing immediate additionality to market while responding to strong institutional demand for access to the sector.” Image: © Savils