SASC

Social and Sustainable Capital looks to grow housing fund to £100m



Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC) is aiming to increase funding to £100m for Social and Sustainable Housing (SASH).


The impact-led social investor announced a second round of funding at an event at the National Theatre.

Charities can purchase homes for vulnerable people across the UK through the SASH fund, which has attracted £26.5m from 19 investors since launching in May and committed £15m to five charities so far.

“To meet the demand for homes for vulnerable people and enable charities to provide permanent accommodation, we need the fund to grow to £100m, which will support 30 organisations to house 10,000 [people] over the next 10 years,” said Ben Rick, managing director at SASC.

Nat Sloane, chair at SASC, added: “SASC’s new housing fund SASH will catalyse and fund social sector landlords and enable them to scale so they can address some of the difficult challenges in housing.”

Mishal Husain, the newsreader and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, also chaired a panel debate at the event which focused on the housing crisis and the role of social investment.

The panel featured Lisa Hilder, treasurer at Hull Women’s Network; Philippa Charles, CEO at Garfield Weston Foundation; Shaun Needham, CEO at Target Housing; and Toby Lloyd, former government specialist adviser on housing.

Mishal stated: “Listening to these people really brings home the need that SASC is going to meet with the new housing fund.”

Shaun also highlighted that they were working with people who were on the “edge of society”.

“It is hard to describe the enormous impact this investment will have.

“Being able to pick and choose the right properties in the right areas is like opening the curtains and seeing the sun shining.”



Leave a comment