Gloucestershire pension fund investment set to help hundreds out of temporary housing

A £30m investment from a pension fund investment is poised to help 750 people in Gloucestershire out of temporary accommodation.
Resonance, the social impact property fund manager, said Gloucestershire Pension Fund (GPF) had put the cash into its national homelessness property Fund 2 (NHPF2).
NHPF2 operates across England and, including this investment, has to date raised around £129m, and purchased over 350 homes, housing almost 500 tenants who were facing a housing crisis.
Of this latest £30m investment, £20m will be invested directly into immediately buying and refurbishing around 90 properties in Gloucestershire, helping the region cut the number of households in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
As of March last year, across all Gloucestershire local Authorities there were 315 households in temporary aaccommodation, including nearly 200 in Gloucester city.
Chris Cullen, head of homelessness property funds at Resonance, said: "We are very grateful for Gloucestershire Pension Fund’s place-based investment into National Homelessness Property Fund 2, which illustrates the difference that local government pension funds can make to the area in which their members live.
"It will enable us to provide much needed homes in Gloucestershire for some of those households that are in temporary accommodation and that don’t have a place to call home."
Rosie Phillips, CEO at charity DHI, added: "As a social inclusion charity, the provision of safe affordable housing is of paramount importance.
"Housing is the single biggest cost pressure on struggling individuals and families and lack of affordable housing causes stress, inequality and poor health.
"Without a secure place to live, progress in other aspects of life will be poor. A safe place to call home provides people with a platform on which to build their lives.”
B Corp firm Resonance was launched in 2002 and provides life changing homes and solutions for people and communities facing crisis.
Since its first property fund launched in 2013, it has helped to provide homes for over 3,400 individuals and families in over 1000 properties across many major cities across the UK.