In October, one of Resonance’s investors into its National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2), Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), published its second independent assessment of its place-based impact through its local investment portfolios in the Greater Manchester region.

GMPF worked with The Good Economy (TGE), a leading independent impact advisory firm, to assess and report on the place-based impact of its investments using TGE’s PBII Reporting Framework.

The report includes four case studies on fund manager investments made on GMPF’s behalf, and that contribute to its local investment approach. One of the case studies featured is Resonance’s NHPF2, specifically its work and impact in the Greater Manchester region.

Thanks to the £20m investment from GMPF – amongst others – into NHPF2, the fund has partnered with three expert housing partners in the region, Salix Homes, Stockport Homes Group and Bolton at Home, and now has just over 100 properties in its portfolio in the Greater Manchester area. Care is taken to ensure that properties purchased meet tenants’ needs and once refurbished and handed over to partners, tenants can access good quality residential services and specialist support. An aim of the fund is to help people who are, or at risk of being homeless gain the confidence and skills to live independently, progress towards securing employment or training, and improve their resilience and wellbeing.

The fund’s investment into properties in the Greater Manchester region is contributing to alleviating the wider housing shortages in the area where in 2023, Manchester City Council alone, spent £19.5m on nightly paid temporary accommodation, and 7.1% (83,595) of households across the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester are on social housing waiting lists – higher than the national average of 5%.

Stephen is one of the tenants housed by Stockport Homes. After experiencing significant hardship following the loss of his partner of over 30 years, he was left without a home and experienced the instability of insecure housing for a few years before he was moved into his new home: “I love it here. It feels safe, it is not chaotic with people coming and going like in the hostels. The house is terrific. It is quiet and I can see the countryside from my front door.”

To date, NHPF2 has 355 properties in its portfolio across the North West, Bristol, Oxford and London, and is housing just under 500 people.

Sarah Forster, CEO and co-Founder of The Good Economy, said: “We applaud GMPF for their pioneering approach to local investment and their commitment to transparent reporting. By using a standardised reporting framework that prioritises consistency, transparency, and comparability, GMPF is paving the way for the private capital markets to effectively measure and understand the true impact of their investments. This shift towards place-based impact reporting recognises that investment success should be measured not only by financial returns, but also by the real world outcomes achieved. By zooming in on the underlying investments, we were able to establish direct connections between GMPF’s investment decisions, the strategies employed by the fund managers and the subsequent real-world outcomes and benefits to the people, communities, and economy of Greater Manchester and the North West.”

Chris Cullen, Fund Manager, Head of Homelessness Property Funds, Resonance, said: “As a place-based social impact property fund, we are providing an opportunity for local authorities and pension funds – including Greater Manchester Pension Fund – to invest in local, affordable housing, in the geographical area of the UK within which they operate, enabling them to make regional social impact on local housing crises.”

Read GMPF’s full report here

About the National Homelessness Property Fund 2  

This fund was created in December 2020 in response to the growing need for affordable housing, providing safe and decent homes for people in housing crisis. Initially, the fund’s focus was on providing homes in the Greater Manchester region but has since expanded into Bristol, Oxford, Merseyside and London.

As of September 2024, the fund has a total of 355 properties in its portfolio and has housed just under 500 people. The fund is aiming to purchase 1,500 family and one-bedroom homes - including from portfolio purchases - across the UK, to house more than 16,000 people over its lifetime. 

About The Good Economy

From strategy development to verification, The Good Economy helps organisations to define, measure, evaluate, report and verify impact investments, showing how they make a positive contribution to sustainable development. Recognised as thought leaders, The Good Economy is the ‘go to’ firm for organisations looking to understand, enhance and communicate the impact of their investments with integrity and confidence.