Calling Impact Investors
For Key Workers' Housing
Impact Beyond Housing
Consider Nikki, a nurse in London who’s dedicated over a decade to caring for NHS patients. She loves her job, but the city she serves is becoming too expensive. Despite long hours, she struggles to keep up with rent as the cost of living outpaces her income. The dream of owning a home feels impossible and each month she considers leaving the life she's built.
Nikki’s story is shared by Millions of key workers—teachers, paramedics, police officers—who are celebrated as heroes but can’t afford to live where they are most needed.
Demand for Key Workers' Housing
The demand for affordable housing for key workers is at an all-time high. As cities like London, Oxford and Cambridge continue to experience rapid growth, housing prices skyrocket, leaving essential workers like Milly behind.
Problem: Housing Crisis
According to recent data, in the UK’s most unaffordable areas, such as Westminster, Camden, and Hammersmith, key workers spend up to 80% of their income on rent. Outside of London, the situation isn’t much better, with areas like Slough and Elmbridge seeing rent-to-income ratios exceeding 50%.
Problem: Stress Levels
This forces many key workers to move further away, increasing their commute times and stress levels. The healthcare sector alone reports that over 41% of NHS workers suffer from work-related stress, exacerbated by long commutes and un-affordable living conditions.
Friendly Solutions: Low Cost/High Impact
Friendly Partnerships’ unique approach to workforce housing begins with the core of the problem: the cost of land. Through strategic partnerships with NHS trusts, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and local authorities, Friendly Partnerships is able to reduce land acquisition costs significantly. These savings are passed directly to key workers, allowing for lower rents and affordable ownership options without sacrificing the quality of housing.
Mixed Tenures To Meet Financial Needs
The business model focuses on building mixed-tenure developments that include affordable housing, shared ownership and private rental units. This diversification of tenure not only meets a wide range of financial needs but also ensures that the developments remain economically viable and sustainable. The result? A win-win for investors and residents alike.
Savings Passed to Key Workers
This asset-light model offers compelling financial advantages. By leveraging public-private partnerships, Friendly Partnerships lowers development costs, allowing for higher returns without the risk typically associated with large-scale property developments. Moreover, with 82% of the rental market in workforce housing, investors are tapping into a massive and underserved market. The stability of workforce housing, proven by its resilience during economic downturns such as the COVID-19 pandemic, makes it a safer, more predictable investment than luxury properties, which saw a 4% income decrease during the same period.
Golden Triangle: Opportunity
Investing in Friendly Partnerships goes beyond financial returns. It’s an opportunity to be part of a larger, more meaningful movement—one that addresses a critical social issue while aligning with the growing demand for impact investing. The need for sustainable, affordable housing is urgent, and the social and environmental impact of investing in this sector is profound.
Investing in Communities
Friendly Partnerships is strategically focused on key locations within the UK’s "Golden Triangle"—London, Oxford, Cambridge, and the greater southeast. These areas are not only some of the most unaffordable for key workers but also home to world-class life sciences clusters and academic institutions. As demand for affordable housing in these regions continues to rise, so does the opportunity for investors to step in and fill this critical gap.
Investing in Scalable Impact
The Golden Triangle is an area of immense potential, with increasing demand for healthcare professionals, researchers, and scientists—key workers who need affordable housing close to their workplaces. Friendly Partnerships is positioned to meet this demand, providing high-quality homes that are not only affordable but also designed with wellness and sustainability at their core.
Social Impact: A True Force for Good
Investing in Friendly Partnerships goes beyond financial returns. It’s an opportunity to be part of a larger, more meaningful movement—one that addresses a critical social issue while aligning with the growing demand for impact investing. The need for sustainable, affordable housing is urgent, and the social and environmental impact of investing in this sector is profound.
Investing in Communities
Every pound invested in key worker housing through Friendly Partnerships is a pound invested in the well-being of communities, the retention of essential workers, and the long-term sustainability of cities. By helping key workers live closer to their places of employment, these investments reduce commute times, lower stress levels, and improve overall well-being—a direct contribution to building a healthier society.
Investing in Social Impact
Moreover, with the UK government’s renewed focus on addressing the housing crisis with 1.5 millions homes in the next 5 years and providing better support for essential workers, this sector aligns perfectly with national priorities, making it not just a smart financial move but also a socially responsible one.