The UK’s National Housing Bank is committing up to £70 million to a new investment fund designed to accelerate the construction of family rental homes and attract more institutional
capital into the country’s housing market.
The fund, known as Fiera Real Estate Single Family Housing (FRESH), has been established by Fiera Real Estate UK Limited and Packaged Living, Fiera Real Estate’s rental housing platform. It aims to build a portfolio exceeding £1 billion, comprising professionally managed rental properties for families across the UK.
The National Housing Bank, which operates as part of Homes England, is providing an initial £51 million cornerstone investment, alongside a further £19 million commitment that will be made available as the fund expands. Together with contributions from private institutional investors, the funding has given FRESH an initial investment capacity of £200 million.
The initiative is intended to encourage greater participation by institutional investors in the residential property sector, while supporting the development of new homes in areas facing persistent housing shortages.
FRESH will work with developers and housebuilders through forward-funding and forward-commitment arrangements. These agreements will help finance projects at an earlier stage, providing developers with greater certainty and enabling the fund to build a diversified portfolio of newly constructed family rental homes.
The investment forms part of the National Housing Bank’s wider strategy to support housing sectors capable of increasing supply and attracting substantial private investment.
Government highlights need for more affordable family homes
Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said the investment would help address the growing pressure on households caused by the housing crisis.
She stressed the government’s commitment to improving housing quality and increasing the availability of homes, adding that the funding would help bring new rental developments forward while encouraging private investors to support construction.
Bank seeks to expand institutional investment
Simon Century, chief executive of the National Housing Bank, said the partnership demonstrated how public finance could help mobilise institutional capital for housing development.
He said the collaboration with Fiera Real Estate and Packaged Living would establish a pipeline of family rental properties at scale, helping tackle shortages in key housing markets and delivering long-term benefits for local communities.
Fiera sees opportunities in the expanding rental market
Charles Allen, head of European Real Estate at Fiera Real Estate, described the commitment as a significant endorsement of the fund’s investment strategy and the companies’ established partnership in delivering rental housing.
He said the fund would offer institutional investors access to a residential asset class that could be expanded efficiently, marking an important milestone in the platform’s development.
Allen added that residential property remained one of Fiera’s three priority investment sectors, alongside real estate debt and logistics. These markets, he said, were supported by structural trends, long-term imbalances between supply and demand, and income streams with resilience against inflation.
Packaged Living highlights public-private cooperation
Ed Ellerington, chief executive of Packaged Living, said the investment illustrated how cooperation between public and private capital could accelerate housing construction across different housing tenures.
He noted that Packaged Living had played a pioneering role in establishing institutional investment in the UK’s single-family rental market, which had developed into a mature asset class with measurable sustainability and socio-economic benefits.
Ellerington said the company would draw on its experience across the entire housing development lifecycle to deliver sustainable, high-quality homes while offering investors opportunities for long-term growth and protection against downside risks.
Expanding housing supply through institutional capital
The National Housing Bank said its commitment to FRESH demonstrated the potential of combining public funding with private investment to increase housing delivery.
By supporting investment platforms capable of operating at scale, the Bank aims to unlock additional sources of institutional finance, encourage the construction of high-quality homes and strengthen housing supply in communities where demand remains high.
The initiative is expected to support the development of a substantial portfolio of professionally managed family rental properties, while providing developers with additional financing opportunities and creating a new channel for institutional investment in the UK residential sector.
