A new social impact investment scheme by PfP Capital has successfully delivered more than 450 new homes.

As the rental property supply and demand imbalance continues to impact the market, the firm says these will offer much-needed housing across Scotland.

The New Avenue Living Fund

The investment scheme helps deliver high-quality mid-market rental homes. These are located close to major Scottish city centres. Each of the homes are managed by Touchstone, a Places for People Group company.

Multiple successful homes are in the company portfolio as nine sites have been acquired with planning for 1,071 homes within Edinburgh, Leith, Glasgow, Paisley, and Midlothian.

The homes in the portfolio are targeting an EPC rating of B or above. Social impact and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics have been relied on for strong social impact benefits for residents and stable investment returns.

William Kyle, MMR fund director for PfP Capital, said: “We’re delighted to have delivered these high-quality homes to local areas through New Avenue Living, which goes some way to mitigating the shortage of affordable rental stock in key locations in Scotland. This shortage is exacerbated by a backdrop of steeply rising house prices and market rents, driven in part by a lack of new build homes in recent years.” 

He added: “There remains a critical deficit of affordable housing, particularly for those who are unable to save for a large deposit, do not qualify for social housing or face long waits for housing, given high demand. We are only able to achieve this intermediate goal, given the strong and valued support of our investment partners, to whom we are most grateful. A compelling feature of our proposition is that our investor clients understand that they have agency in terms of the decision around the ultimate destiny of the properties.”

Mark Vickery, director of business development for PfP Capital, also commented: “PfP Capital’s activities enable the recycling of our profits back into the Places for People Group, who is able to use this income to directly create further social value in its role as a leading social enterprise in the UK.”

“Our particular approach has led to discussions with interested parties in Scotland and across the UK to enable us to increase the speed, scale and geographic spread of our social impact via our range of strategies, including the provision of high-quality affordable homes”