Investment giant M&G has agreed a £62.7 million deal to buy 370 shared ownership homes in London and the South East, through partnerships with three housing associations.
The M&G Shared Ownership fund will partner with Chelmer Housing Partnership (CHP), Hyde Group (Hyde), and HSPG-backed Park Properties Housing Association (PPHA), a fund that allows investors to invest in the affordable housing sector.
Alex Greaves, head of UK and European living at M&G Real Estate, told the Standard the growing appeal of shares ownership for those struggling to afford a mortgage as interest rates rise had made these homes a strong investment: ”In the shared ownership market, sales are very resilient. The appeal of shared ownership has improved quite significantly compared to buying outright.”
Investment groups have increasingly upped their interest in the affordable housing sector in recent years. According to Savills, investors and For Profit Registered Providers (FPRP) now own more than 28,150 affordable homes – a 35% increase since March 2022.
Chris Jeffs, a fund manager at M&G’s Shared Ownership Fund, said the money provided by M&G helps make it easier to get developments that may otherwise be stuck over the line. “The reality is that these housing developments are stuck. The land costs and build costs have made it very difficult.”
Greaves also added that while shared ownership carries a poor reputation among some people, he believes that this has been driven by factors unrelated to the actual ownership structure of the homes: “The challenge has nothing to do with shared ownership, it’s not because of shared ownership, it’s because of the bad aspects of freehold and leasehold.”
Although the deals focus on London and the South East, Jeffs and Greaves said M&G may target other areas of the country in the future.
