British insurer and asset manager Legal & General (L&G) has raised £510 million (US$633.7 million) for its affordable housing investment strategy as part of the second close of its Affordable Housing Fund. L&G said the Affordable Housing Fund, which is focused on addressing the UK’s housing crisis, has “attracted strong investor interest” since its July 2024 launch. The fund’s new investors include London CIV, the entity that manages London Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) assets, which has invested £100 million, alongside social impact investor Better Society Capital. In addition, ACCESS Pool, an LGPS collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires, has invested a further £20 million in addition to a previous allocation in 2024. The funds raised to date are expected to deliver up to 4,000 homes. Besides completing a second close of the fund, L&G has seeded the fund with a portfolio of 514 homes, and has exchanged contracts on three funding opportunities to bring forward more affordable housing development. Based on the fund’s current pipeline, L&G expects to have over 1,000 homes either operational or under construction by Q2 2025. “The level of interest we have seen in this Fund since its inception last year is a testament to the attractive proposition that investors see in contributing to much-needed affordable housing in the UK, while seeking to invest in steady inflation-linked returns and positive social impact,” said Ali Farrell, Fund Manager at L&G. “I am pleased to welcome our new partners as we leverage our sector-leading platform to execute our strategy and deliver high quality housing in areas of acute need.”
