Assetz to invest at least £2.5bn in SME housebuilding

Assetz said it would be increasing investment in SME housebuilders through its specialist housebuilding finance platform, Assetz Capital. The subsidiary is aiming to fund a quarter of all SME new-builds over the long-term.

Its 2022 strategy, set out in its Investing in a Fairer Future report, will involve doubling down on the social impact of its funding, including more eco-homes and affordable housing.

It said it would also play a larger role in the provision of funding for development or investment in supported living and care accommodation.

Assetz Capital said it intended to reach a £1bn lending run-rate this year and £1.5bn run-rate in 2023, in an initiative it hoped would revive the SME housebuilding sector from current lows of just 2,500 companies, to the sector’s peak in the 1980s where the number was around 12,000.

The group said it intended to grow lending support for the development and long-term finance of all forms of care and supported living accommodation, and increase its funding of commercial mortgages for trading businesses across the UK.

It hoped its initiative would enable the UK to meet national housing targets by addressing the housing crisis. It would also satisfy the huge demand for new energy efficient homes as the nation sought to decarbonise housing stock and adapt to a world shaped by the pandemic and a huge surge in energy costs.

According to Assetz, its group of companies has helped fund approximately £2.5bn worth of new housing since 1999 – equating to around new 16,000 homes – and has helped 1,110 SMEs across the country gain access to alternative finance to fund projects and support business growth.

The company added that it would commit to ensuring at least 95 per cent of all new homes it funds are EPC B-rated or above by the end of the year.

Assetz Exchange, the group’s investment subsidiary, will develop housing for those most in need through provision of supported living accommodation, providing fairer rents than those presently offered by investors to charities.

Stuart Law (pictured), chief executive of the Assetz Group, said: “Since launching the Assetz group of companies over 20 years ago, our purpose has been consistent – to provide investors who understand investment risk with an innovative platform which offers healthy returns backed by property security, while putting their capital to work to tackle big social challenges and support undersupplied areas of the market.

“This year we will go further than ever to support SMEs, catalyse the delivery of low carbon housing and take a leadership role in boosting the provision of much needed supported living accommodation to help address the growing crisis in the care sector.”

He added: “We have always believed that financial success and making a positive social impact are closely linked, a view we share with an increasing majority of investors who understand that using their capital for the benefit of wider society, as an extra return beyond headline interest rates, is the best way to generate sustainable returns long term.

“In this context we are laser-focused on growing the Group this year to provide even more attractive opportunities for investors, support the growth of UK trading businesses and job creation, and provide increasing numbers of energy efficient homes to those that need them most.”