#IGSocialInvest16 Ashley Horsey Chief Executive Commonweal Housing
Harnessing the Benefits of Social Investment Within the Housing Sector The art of potential Using social investment for hair-brained schemes and crackpot ideas Commonweal Housing exist to enable others to test new ideas and seek replication of those that are proven to work - We are a housing based Action Learning charity we provide the homes and houses to enable expert partners to test those ideas. Established in 2006 as an off-shoot of a not for profit Industrial & Provident Society property company (Grove End Housing).our first social investor We challenge those we work with to think differently to find new housing solutions to social injustice to facilitate change in delivery, policy and outcomes. It s all about the learning and a willingness to try new ideas Whether the projects themselves work is secondary understanding why they do or do not work is key Where new solutions are found, do they have the potential for large scale impact? We don t do tried and tested.we do the trying and the testing!
Our stock in trade is providing the houses, the bricks and mortar for others to utilise for social impact and action learning We have created our property backed Social Investment model in 2013 developing the learning from our founding model leveraging up our ability to provide more homes - over 6M of investment secured since then. We use our own charitable resources to subsidise and / or underwrite investment deals We insulate investors from the performance of the project and similarly insulate the project partners from the investors. Loan Note investment structure funding to Commonweal who issues interest bearing loan notes to each investor funds used to acquire property to date no management or admin fees taken by Commonweal. Investment funds secured via a legal charge against the property purchased Effectively 100% mortgage finance Guaranteed yield and share of capital uplift Very safe, asset backed investment for investors primary (only??) risk is negative equity at end of term but soft options in place to reduce impact.
Social Investors Provide funds for property purchases - Investment Agreement - CWH Issue Loan Notes Strategic Project Review Meetings Attended by CWH, Project Partner and standing invitation to Investors External Evaluator Commissioned by CWH Commonweal Holds properties on balance sheet Guarantees yield payments to Investors regardless of performance of the project Project Partner Leases properties from CWH (subsidised lease rent) Delivers mgmt and support services in line with Project Agreement Security Trustee Appointed by Investors holds legal charge on properties
2007 to date: Re-Unite homeless mothers leaving prison enabling them to be reunited with their children (and supported to become a stable family) 2009 2016: Chrysalis transitional accommodation for women exiting prostitution 2011- to date: Peer Landlord supportive shared housing - 1.5M of social investment secured in 2013 from Trusts and Social Investment Fund funding 6 houses evaluation report from University of York published 2016 2013 2015 Miscarriages of Justice the failings of the resettlement process magnified because there simply isn t any support! Small project over-engineered housing solution ended early. Learning behind the failure shared new policy solution identified call to action report published 2016 2014 to date: No recourse to public funds
2016 2020: Freedom2Work partnership with Elmbridge Rentstart in Surrey supporting innovative savings model to ease transition from benefits to employment. 2016 onwards: Amari Project new development building upon the learning from Chrysalis - supporting women moving on from a chaotic past bridging the gap between hostels and independent private sector living. 2016(?) onwards: Young Adult Carers new project providing a planned housing pathway for young people (18-25) to take s step towards independent living away from the caring environment. 240,00 of them in the UK age 18-24; 25% NEET around twice the rate of the general population. 2.3M facility from 4 investors to acquire 4 shared housing properties in Bethnal Green.
2014 to date: No recourse to public funds forced destitution of failed asylum seekers Testing a cross subsidised model to deliver more free bed spaces for those with NRPF. Four investors Big Society Capital and three traditional Trusts / Foundations deploying impact investment funds. 2.5M facility to buy 7 three bed shared properties in south & east London Partnering with Praxis Community Projects a leading refugee and migrant support agency Providing some bed spaces to London Boroughs to house families to whom council s have a duty under S.17 of the Children s Act Providing a cost effective product to councils and empathetic and expert support to the individual clients Praxis utilise other available bed space to provide free accommodation for those with No Recourse to Public appealing against a negative asylum decision or entitled to make a fresh application www.commonwealhousing.org.uk ashleyh@commonweal.org.uk