International law firm Trowers & Hamlins advises Better Society Capital and a consortium of public, local authority and charity investors, including the Greater London Authority and City of London Corporation (as charity trustee of City Bridge Foundation), on their investment in the Resonance Housing Pathways Fund (RHPF), an evergreen fund established to provide low-cost affordable homes for people facing homelessness.
RHPF is the first fund to be launched as a Reserved Investor Fund (RIF) in the UK. The RIF structure was introduced in March 2025 and was designed to offer an onshore vehicle that could channel private capital from institutional investors into illiquid investments including commercial real estate and social and affordable housing.
Trowers advised the investors on the restructuring of their investments in certain legacy funds. The firm also advised on the fund's structure and assisted the investors with their due diligence on the fund documentation. The investors advised by Trowers accounted for approximately £100 million of capital commitments to RHPF.
The in-house team at BSC was led by Josie Tubbs.
Drew Ritchie, Investment Director at Better Society Capital, said:
"Behind the record numbers in temporary accommodation are families living in limbo and councils facing unsustainable costs. We've backed Resonance's homelessness property funds for over a decade because the model works. We're grateful to Trowers for their support in understanding the new Reserved Investment Fund (RIF) structure which is designed for institutional scale - targeting pension funds and other long-term investors to help turn temporary accommodation into settled homes. We hope it encourages many more to look seriously at a market where capital can deliver real impact and financial returns."
Karl Behrouz, Partner in the Financial Services Regulatory and Investment Funds team at Trowers & Hamlins, commented:
“It was a pleasure working with the teams at Better Society Capital, the GLA, City Bridge Foundation and a consortium of other local authority investors. We are delighted that RHPF has reached its first close. Its launch represents a significant milestone for the UK real estate funds industry and comes at an important time, with our new Prime Minister having made a commitment to prioritise ending homelessness in our country.”
The Trowers team was led by Karl Behrouz, with support from Partners Jessica Arczynski (Affordable Housing) and Alex Barnes (Tax) as well as Tim Anson (Financial Services Regulatory and Investment Funds).
