Conscious IM announces first close on its social housing fund

Conscious Investment Management (CIM) has announced first close on its $200 million social and affordable housing fund following the secured commitments of more than $50 million from new and existing investors, including large family offices and foundations.

Its Social Housing Fund 2 (CIMSHF2) will aim to repeat the success of CIM’s first social housing fund which was launched in 2021 and invested in first $130 million large-scale, privately-funded social and affordable housing transaction in the country alongside the Victorian Government and Community Housing Association, HousingFirst.

CIMSHF2 managed to attract a cornerstone commitment to the fund from the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the backing from foundation clients of Australian Impact Investments, such as the Siddle Family Foundation and Snow Foundation.

CIM’s fund will focus on financing assets together with government funding programs as the public sector is looking for partners and opportunities tom engage private capital to serve the community housing sector.

The firm said that its first social housing fund had demonstrated that social and affordable housing could be “financially attractive, deep-impact asset class which is investible at institutional scale”.

In addition to this landmark Victorian transaction, CIM has since partnered with Community Housing Providers to pursue two other social housing projects, including partnering with the NSW Government and Bridge Housing, to fund the acquisition of up to 90 social housing dwellings in Sydney; and Melbourne City Mission to fund up to 15 properties to house vulnerable young people.

The recently announced federal funding initiatives include the Housing Australia Fund and the National Housing Accord which have been designed to help stimulate institutional investors in the the social and affordable housing sector, with a target set at 40,000 new affordable homes over the next five years.

Separately, CIM has also announced the appointment of John White, who serves as non-executive director of HousingFirst, as its new special adviser to the business, with an assigned focus on its second social housing fund.

White is a special adviser to Heitman, US$53 billion global real estate investment manager where he previously worked for over a decade as a senior managing director and member of the firm’s Global Management and Global Investment Committees. He also serves and non-executive director and chair of Cafs.

Prior to this, he held senior roles at Challenger Financial Services, HSBC and ANZ Banking Group.

CIMSHF2 is currently open for investment. The Fund is a 12-year closed end, capital call vehicle with a target size of $200 million and CIM is targeting a second close in Q1 2024.