Case Study: Impact-led investment unlocking homes

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Image courtesy of Resonance

A three-way partnership between Resonance (Social Impact Property Fund Manager), Bristol City Council (Investor) & Developing Health & Independence (Housing Partner), is delivering 34 one-bed flats, and wrap around support, for people who had been sleeping rough/experiencing homelessness.

In Bristol, in November 2022, 58 people were known to be sleeping on the streets. By partnering with expert housing partner, Developing Health & Independence (DHI), and thanks to investment from Bristol City Council, Resonance’s National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2) is purchasing 34 one-bed homes specifically for rough sleepers. By September 2023 Resonance’s impact-fund had purchased 31 homes, with 21 handed over and 16 people housed. This partnership is part of the Government’s Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme, the objective of which is to provide move- on homes and specialist support services for people sleeping rough.

The fund, which launched with an initial investment of £20m and to date has raised £76m of its c.£300m target size, is purchasing properties in local communities, refurbishing them to a high standard, including improving their energy efficiencies. Properties are then handed over to local housing partners, such as DHI in the south-west, to manage tenancies and support tenants with their specialist support services

Stable homes give tenants the opportunity to transition from homelessness to becoming part of their community, gaining employment or training, saving for their future and giving them the ability to eventually move on into their own private accommodation.

Impact-fund manager Resonance is currently managing around £350m of investors’ capital across eleven operational impact funds.

Resonance’s Homelessness Property Funds Social Impact Report for 2022/23

Video interview with one of NHPF2’s tenants in Bristol

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