Octopus Capital, an asset manager investing in the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world, has raised an additional £10m for its Affordable Housing Strategy from the Henry Smith Foundation. This brings the total raised to £500m.
The Affordable Housing Strategy is focused on delivering high-quality, energy-efficient affordable homes across the UK. The team invests in new-build developments, with a strong emphasis on social impact, community benefit, and sustainability.
The Henry Smith Foundation backs organisations working at critical points in people’s lives, where the right support can prevent harm and open up options. It does not deliver housing directly but invests in the organisations and systems that make stable housing possible.
Access to genuinely affordable housing remains a pressing challenge across the UK. This investment reflects the Foundation’s decision to direct part of its endowment towards increasing supply.
This is the first time an investor from the UK Endowment & Foundation sector has invested into the Octopus’ Affordable Housing Strategy demonstrating its continued appeal to mission-aligned institutions across different sectors and regions.
This comes after the announcement that the strategy has made the shortlist for the Endowments Investing Challenge run by Friends Provident. The competitive process received a total of 60 applications from investment service providers in seven different countries and Octopus Capital has made the top five.
“We’re delighted to have received further support from the Endowment and Foundation sector, where we feel our strategy is uniquely placed in providing mission aligned investment by developing high quality and environmentally sustainable affordable homes. The story of the Henry Smith Foundation is a perfect fit for what the strategy is trying to achieve.”
Jack Burnham, Head of Affordable Housing, Octopus Capital
“Housing shapes whether other forms of support can succeed. When people do not have stable, affordable homes, progress elsewhere rarely lasts. For us, social housing is not only a social priority. It is also an investment opportunity, one that allows the endowment to grow while contributing to solutions rather than adding pressure to the housing market.”
William Sieghart, Chairman, Henry Smith Foundation
