News

Media Release: Conscious Investment Management announces first close on its $200M social and affordable housing fund

November 27, 2023
Conscious Investment Management By Conscious Investment Management

At a glance

  • Conscious Investment Management (“CIM”) announces first close on its $200M social and affordable housing fund, CIM Social Housing Fund 2 (“CIMSHF2” or the “Fund”), securing commitments from new and existing investors, and cornerstoned by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
  • The Fund aims to deliver market-rate financial returns while increasing the supply of social and affordable housing in Australia by working in partnership with the community housing sector.
  • Recognised global property and funds management executive, John White, will join CIM as Special Advisor for the business.

 

Dedicated impact investment fund manager, Conscious Investment Management has announced first close on its $200M social and affordable housing fund, CIM Social Housing Fund 2, securing commitments of over A$50M from several large family offices and foundations. Early CIM supporter and prominent philanthropic organisation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, has provided a cornerstone commitment to the Fund which follows its support of CIM’s previous social and affordable housing and Specialist Disability Accommodation funds. Other investors backing the Fund include several family office and foundation clients of Australian Impact Investments, such as the Siddle Family Foundation and Snow Foundation.

CIMSHF2 follows the successful deployment of CIM’s first social housing fund, which launched in 2021 to invest in Australia’s first large-scale, privately-funded social and affordable housing transaction – an ~A$130M investment alongside the Victorian Government and Community Housing Association, HousingFirst. The Fund represents a continuation of this model and is designed to continue to demonstrate that social and affordable housing can be a 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:

  1. the NSW Government and Bridge Housing, to fund the acquisition of up to 90 social housing dwellings in Sydney; and
  2. Melbourne City Mission to fund up to 15 properties to house vulnerable young people.

The Fund will work closely in partnership with the community housing sector to finance assets in combination with government funding programs, including the recently announced Federal Government funding initiatives, the Housing Australia Future Fund and the National Housing Accord. These programs aim to stimulate institutional investment in the social and affordable housing sector and target the delivery of 40,000 new social and affordable homes over the next five years.

Matthew Tominc, CIM Chief Investment Officer, said

 “Since we financed social and affordable housing at scale in Victoria in 2021, assets financed by CIM’s funds have provided housing to over 400 tenants. This comes with substantial lessons learned and experience. As governments increasingly look to partner with private capital in this space, we hope to be an early scale mover, using these learnings and our partnerships with the community housing sector to show models of best practice for how private capital can play a role in this emerging sector.”

CIM has also announced that John White will join CIM as a Special Advisor to the business, focusing his time on CIMSHF2. With over three decades of experience in global property investment and development, financial services and funds management, John is a recognised leader in the property sector and a vocal advocate for social and affordable housing in Australia.

  “This partnership comes at an exciting time, as the Australian Government has recently announced funding for the Housing Accord and Housing Australia Future Fund initiatives,” said John. “These initiatives provide an opportunity for fund managers like CIM to work with not-for- profits, charities, community housing providers and government entities to invest private capital and assist in the delivery of much needed housing solutions. Together, we have the chance to make a lasting impact in the housing sector, and I look forward to the journey ahead.”

John is a Special Advisor to Heitman, US$53B 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. John also serves as Non-Executive Director of HousingFirst and Non-Executive Director and Chair of Cafs. Previously, John held senior roles at Challenger Financial Services, HSBC and ANZ Banking Group.

 “We have worked closely with John for several years in his role as a Director of HousingFirst, one of CIM’s existing housing partners. During this time, we have seen John use his extensive experience to drive meaningful change in the social and affordable housing sector. CIM is excited to be working with John as we continue to build the social and affordable housing asset class to institutional scale while delivering much needed housing stock for low-income earners and people experiencing vulnerability in Australia” said Tominc.

CIMSHF2 is currently open for investment.1 The Fund is a 12-year closed end, capital call vehicle with a target size of A$200M. CIM is targeting a second close in Q1 2024.

You can read more about our work in our 2023 Impact Report.

See the Australian Financial Report article.

1. For Professional and Institutional investors only.