Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund

To date the Housing Investment Fund has committed over £420m to build over 5,150 units at 40 sites across Greater Manchester. Whilst the Investment Fund has reached the £300m milestone after two-and-a-half years, it is open for business using recycled funds and will continue to invest in more homes across the region.

Developers can still get a loan to kickstart housing projects that would otherwise be difficult to fund from elsewhere.

• Any loan size considered between £500k and £30 million
• Security requirements dependent on project specifics
• Maximum four year loan term, longer terms considered case by case
• Stretch senior debt and mezzanine finance options available and equity investment will be considered.

Read the Greater Manchester Housing Fund leaflet to find out more. 

Case Study

Manchester based developer Nook and Key lacked the track record to access high street funding and approached the Fund after seeing a banner on a site in Manchester City Centre.

The Fund agreed a £2.5m loan with an additional £1.1m from the Homes and Communities Agency to support the conversion of a Grade II listed church and the development of 14 new build family homes in Hyde.

The monies represent 85% of the development costs of the scheme. 

Director Ross Gardner said: “The fees are comparable to institutional lending but more crucially the amount allows us to free up our own equity and look at other sites and more schemes. It is a partnership and makes us as a small business a more attractive and safer proposition. It opens up avenues for other private investors and allows us to grow faster”.

The Church, St Stephens in Floweryfields, will be converted into 16 large one and two bedroom apartments in a scheme designed by Millson Associates. All the apartments and the three and four bedroom houses will be for sale.

Director Mike Hampson said: “We have discovered that there is a lot of added value working with the fund rather than with a bank. We have received a huge level of support, not just financial but with the strategic positioning of the company. 

“The Fund Team came out to see what we do. The quality we want to achieve and the mix of properties we will create in Hyde. Unlike a bank the Fund has the same goal as us – we want to build more houses. All our ambitions aligned.”

Investment Director Andrew McIntosh said: “We would encourage developers of all sizes to come and speak to us. Nook and Key are a perfect example of how working together we can get a wide range of housing schemes on-site and building more quickly.”

To find out more about the Housing Investment Fund, please email: gminvestment@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk