<p>Investment manager Man Group has launched its Community Housing Fund, with the first stage of a £400 million target for affordable homes funding attracting a £20 million investment from Homes England.</p> <p>Homes England’s financial commitment, Man Group said, was the government agency’s first investment into a close-ended fund focusing on delivering affordable housing. Other investors into the fund so far include Big Society Capital and the Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust, and Swansea and Strathclyde Local Government Pension Schemes. </p> <p>The Man GPM RI Community Housing Fund, managed by Man Global Private Markets, the group’s private markets investment arm, has started to deploy capital in the UK, with a commitment to date to delivering 363 new homes in England, with a target of 3,500 homes by 2026.</p> <p>Providing financial returns, the fund, led by Shamez Alibhai, head of community housing at Man GPM, aims to address “the shortage of new, high quality housing in the UK which is affordable to those earning the median income and below”. Man Group intends to provide homes of various rental and ownership tenures, “with a strong focus on creating sustainable communities”. </p> <p>In December 2020, Man GPM announced its first activity under the fund …