The UK's first social-housing orientated Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Civitas Social Housing, has been oversubscribed by £100m, raising £350m ahead of its planned floatation on the London Stock Exchange. To continue reading this please register or sign in to your account below. Civitas aims to offer dividends of 5%, while the proceeds will be ploughed back into housing stock in England and Wales. The REIT has not been greeted warmly by the industry, which fears tough economic conditions could tie housing providers into 10 to 40-year agreements. A number of other social investment trusts have also raised funds this year, including a new fund for affordable housing, called Housing First, that is backed by property developers such as Canary Wharf Group and New City Development.
The UK's first social-housing orientated Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Civitas Social Housing, has been oversubscribed by £100m, raising £350m ahead of its planned floatation on the London Stock Exchange. Civitas aims to offer dividends of 5%, while the proceeds will be ploughed back into housing stock in England and Wales. The REIT has not been greeted warmly by the industry, which fears tough economic conditions could tie housing providers into 10 to 40-year agreements. A number of other social investment trusts have also raised funds this year, including a new fund for affordable housing, called Housing First, that is backed by property developers such as Canary Wharf Group and New City Development.