Value Group has launched a hunt for £2bn of funding for its new affordable housing platform.
It has appointed Avison Young to source the cash. The company already has almost 600 units completed or in development. It is aiming to scale this to 10,000 units in London and the South East, which the new funds will be committed to build.
Value Group will be the first private sector, fully integrated investor, developer and manager to focus on affordable housing with the goal of “creating a private sector-driven vertically integrated social housing enterprise”.
It will be a registered provider of social housing, making homes available to the social housing sector through tenancy agreements backed by local authorities and other registered providers. The fundraising process will formally begin in the second quarter of the year.
Iskandar Karam, founder of Value Group, said: “For the good of society, we have to get the affordable housing sector right. At Value Group we work tirelessly to deliver innovative solutions to our tenants, investors and government bodies.”
Richard Stonehouse, principal and head of residential investment at Avison Young, added: “This is a unique and exciting opportunity that will create a substantial and sustainable portfolio of assets, giving the private sector the opportunity to play a significant part in the delivery and management of affordable homes.
“We envisage a weight of capital, both domestic and international, that will be attracted to this opportunity to create demonstrable social value.”
Value Group, formerly Value Living Group, has headquarters in London. The company was founded by Karam, an ex-merchant banker and developer, in 2017. The company chief executive is Stephen Grocock, former executive director of operations at Trent & Dove Housing.
The movement of private capital into affordable housing is a growing trend, with Blackstone owning a 90% stake in housing association Sage, the launch of Legal & General Affordable Homes and Man Group’s affordable homes expansion.
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