Places for People Group’s fund manager Thriving Investments has partnered with Gresham House, a fund manager that oversees two for-profit registered providers, to create a shared ownership fund management platform.
The partnership will manage Gresham House’s existing shared ownership fund: Gresham House Residential Secure Income LP (GH ReSI LP). The fund is a UK limited partnership that was launched in May 2021 to invest in the delivery of shared ownership housing through its wholly owned for-profit registered provider of social housing, ReSI Homes.
The partnership between Gresham House and Thriving Investments will be renamed and known as ReSI LP.
The two fund managers said the partnership will create a shared ownership platform of scale, with “the combined resources and complementary skills of both companies enabling the best possible outcomes for investors and residents, whilst providing a strong pipeline for growth”.
The new fund owns the assets and has its own governance structure outside of Places for People.
Thriving Investments, which rebranded last year from its original name of PfP Capital, is the fund management arm of Places for People. In March this year, it acquired for-profit registered provider Rosewood Housing.
As well as managing ReSI LP in its previous format as GH ReSI LP, Gresham House is the fund manager of Residential Secure Income plc (ReSI plc).
ReSI plc invests in independent retirement rental properties and shared ownership homes and is the real estate investment trust (REIT) behind the company’s original for-profit registered provider, ReSI Housing, registered in 2018.
ReSI plc announced in October that it had proposed a managed wind-down and portfolio realisation strategy for the REIT, which would include the sale of ReSI Housing. ReSI Homes is not affected by ReSI’s wind-down.
Ben Fry, who at Gresham House was a fund manager at ReSI LP, as well as Residential Secure Income, has been appointed to the newly created role of affordable housing fund director at Thriving Investments.
He will continue to advise ReSI LP while supporting Thriving Investments’ broader expansion ambitions in the shared ownership and affordable rent sectors. Mr Fry will continue to manage ReSI LP and ReSI plc, alongside being the managing director of the two registered providers of social housing within these funds, ReSI Homes and ReSI Housing.
To date, Gresham House’s shared ownership fund has deployed nearly £200m, amassing a portfolio of 1,557 affordable homes across England, of which over 1,100 are operational.
It currently has £120m of capital to deploy and is actively fundraising, with a target to build a shared ownership portfolio worth more than £1bn over the next five years.
The partnership will see seven employees from Gresham House join Thriving Investments. Cath Webster, chief executive of Thriving Investments, John Tatham, its finance director, and fund manager Jamie Younger will join an expanded investment advisory committee.
Gresham House will continue to provide all Financial Conduct Authority regulatory functions, oversight, finance and reporting, client servicing and fundraising functions for the fund.
Thriving Investments will be responsible for managing the portfolio and sourcing and executing new acquisitions via its streamlined investment process and access to Places for People’s pipeline.
There are no proposed changes to the existing for-profit registered provider, ReSI Homes, or the membership of its board.
Ms Webster said the partnership took Thriving Investments past £1bn of assets under advisory.
She said: “UK government targets have been set to solve this country’s housing problem. It will take innovation, new approaches and partnerships to get this country building to the scale required.
“This transformative partnership not only highlights the role private investment can bring into the sector, but delivers immediate opportunities to scale across the property, asset management and regulatory markets. It combines Gresham House’s proven capital raising capabilities, and deep [Local Government Pension Scheme] relationships in particular, with Thriving Investments’ core activity of fund deployment and consistent delivery of market outperformance and strong social impact.
“The partnership will enable us to accelerate our ambitions in the shared ownership and affordable rental housing sectors, which are increasingly attractive to investors for their combination of stable income streams blended with capital growth, as part of our commitment to delivering high-quality, socially conscious communities.”
Anthony Dalwood, chief executive of Gresham House, said: “This significant partnership will create a best-in-class shared ownership platform for investors and unlock opportunities for continued investment and growth.
“Combining our expertise will accelerate essential investment in affordable, high-quality, energy-efficient housing to support the government’s commitment to tackling the UK’s housing crisis.
“Combining a Greater London Authority strategic partner in Gresham House, and a Homes England strategy partner in Places for People, provides the best possible opportunity set to deliver deployment in the fund.
“The scale of the UK’s housing challenge clearly cannot be met by the public sector alone, and long-term, patient private capital can make a tangible difference to the overall supply of UK housing while providing social and environment benefits to residents, the local community and wider economy.”
Mr Fry added: “Delivering meaningful social impact investment opportunities for investors in the housing sector has underpinned much of my career and fully aligns with Thriving Investments’ strategy.
“I look forward to leveraging my experience at Gresham House and that of the Thriving Investments team to accelerate the fund’s growth, whilst delivering value for clients within what is arguably the sector’s only vertically integrated social impact fund management platform.”