Patron Capital and social impact investor Resonance have raised £15.5m for their Women in Safe Homes investment fund.
The fund, set up to provide homes for women who are experiencing homelessness, have been involved with the criminal justice system, are survivors of domestic abuse or have other complex needs, hopes to raise a total of £100m to buy 650 affordable homes across the UK.
The first round of funding has been provided by impact investor Big Society Capital, the US-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Patron managing director Keith Breslauer (pictured) and US-based Lostand Foundation.
Breslauer said: “The case for impact investing has never been more relevant than it is right now, with the pandemic both exacerbating and shining a light on the societal issues that vehicles such as the Women in Safe Homes fund can look to address.
“Societal impact and the potential to change the world around us have always underpinned our work at Patron Capital and are key to my own personal philosophy on life. This is why I have personally invested in the fund, and we are looking forward to taking this a step further by working alongside Resonance to co-manage the fund.
“To have secured the investment of the MacArthur Foundation, Big Society Capital and Lostand Foundation is a strong endorsement of our strategy and ambition for the fund, and we look forward to realising this as we aim to make the fund’s first acquisition by the end of this year.”
Kay Orlopp, Resonance’s property fund development manager and lead on the Women in Safe Homes fund, added: “Thousands of women in the UK are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness due to a chronic lack of suitable and affordable housing. This is particularly prevalent for women who have experienced domestic abuse and are unable to live their lives in safety or who are leaving prison with nowhere to go.
“The Women in Safe Homes fund, run as a joint venture between Resonance and Patron Capital, will provide a social impact investment housing solution to this gendered housing need and, working alongside charity partners, will deliver safe and affordable homes for vulnerable women who need them most.”
The WISH fund will buy properties and lease them to women’s sector organisations and homelessness charities which, in turn, will rent homes to women at risk of homelessness, with a secure tenancy. Initial charity partners Preston Road Women’s Centre and Refuge will provide specialist and housing support to help women recover from abusive or difficult circumstances, while Nacro will house women under its Bail, Accommodation and Support Service, enabling women to find stability and rebuild their lives, and help them to sustain their tenancies.
The fund has been developed over more than two years in collaboration with leading women’s sector organisations and networks, including Women’s Aid, in order to ensure that it responds to the lived experience of women and the social enterprises that support them. It takes a gender-lens approach to all aspects of its operation to ensure that its impact is led by the voices, experience and requirements of women.
Patron and Resonance are seeking further investment from institutional, pension fund and professional investors that will be attracted not only by the potential of a financial return from rent and capital appreciation, but also by the strong focus on achieving substantial positive social impact by supporting women in challenging circumstances.
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