April 20th 2026 – Today, the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University published the final evaluation of the “Everyone In” Social Investment Pilot (SIP), concluding three years of research into whether social investment can effectively channel private capital to increase the supply of housing for people experiencing homelessness.

Launched in March 2020 as part of the Government's “Everyone In” response to rough sleeping during COVID-19, the SIP saw the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Better Society Capital (BSC) pool public and private resources into a £50 million pilot, which helped attract a further £138 million in investment. By March 2025, 528 properties had been purchased across England and Scotland, with more than 80 per cent located in areas with the highest levels of homelessness, temporary accommodation use, and income deprivation.

PERU's final evaluation confirms that the SIP met its principal objectives. It demonstrates that social investment can complement public provision by enabling high quality property acquisition, creating conditions for relational practice with clients and fostering organisational innovation - all while remaining cost-neutral or cost-saving to the public purse relative to temporary accommodation or the private rented sector.

The evaluation considered four different social investment models, assessing the economic, organisational and impact outcomes. Key findings from participating housing providers and fund managers include:

  • Nacro (Resonance): tenants, mostly from temporary accommodation or rough sleeping, reported feeling "safe for the first time." Supported leases in London cost around 15 per cent less than equivalent private lets while offering better housing quality.
  • Stockport Homes Limited (Resonance): estimated savings of 12–22 per cent compared with private rents and over 70 per cent relative to temporary accommodation.
  • P3 (SASC): used SIP financing to grow its portfolio in areas of genuine housing need and clients benefitted from stability and co-produced life-skills support.
  • Target Housing (SASC): the THRIVE and Criminal Justice programmes delivered the strongest evidence of improvement, with ownership enabling rapid repairs, home adaptations, and harm-reduction support for tenants with complex needs, and projected real returns of around 5.8 per cent.

A key differentiator was SIP's high-quality properties in the right locations, combined with models that gave providers real control over adaptations, repairs, and challenges like anti-social behaviour, that created the foundation for relational practice and positive outcomes.

Beyond housing outcomes, the SIP acted as a catalyst for organisational learning across delivery partners. The study concludes that it fostered new hybrid competencies - integrating social care ethos with financial literacy, property management, and investor reporting - one of the programme's most durable legacies.

The evaluation also identified clear limitations. In some regions, the speed of acquisitions was too slow in the face of challenging property markets. In three of the five pilot areas examined, the service was not designed to deliver permanent housing. Fixed lease terms ending in 2030 present a sustainability risk for tenants unless refinancing or rollover mechanisms are secured. Future pilots should build on examples like THRIVE and the National Homelessness Property Fund 2, which delivered in-effect permanent housing, to test social investment's full potential at scale.

The full report can be found here.

Drew Ritchie, Investment Director at Better Society Capital commented: "As this three-year evaluation concludes, we're pleased to see a significant body of evidence telling the story of the distinct and powerful contribution that social investment can make to tackling homelessness.

“A home on its own does not always solve the problem - dedicated care and support are essential for people to thrive. But a good quality home, in a good neighbourhood, readily repaired and well managed is exactly the foundation on which that support package can rest. The evaluation illustrates how public and private money can come together to create these conditions at lower cost to the public purse while building the capacity of homelessness organisations to deliver more.

“We hope this amplifies the signal to Government and politicians that it’s time to bring social impact investment into the mainstream of UK housing and homelessness policy.”

Chris Fox, Professor of Evaluation and Policy Analysis at Manchester Metropolitan University and lead evaluator commented: “This evaluation shows that the Everyone In Social Investment Pilot has demonstrated a practical route to increasing the supply of homes for people experiencing homelessness through social investment. By enabling organisations to acquire properties that would otherwise have been out of reach, the model expands what services they can offer showing the potential for social investment to support more person-centred approaches at scale. The findings underline both the potential of this approach and the importance of getting the delivery and funding structures right. The task is now to build on this learning and translate it into sustainable policy and commissioning practice.”

John Williams, Managing Director Property Funds at Resonance commented: “Resonance is proud to have worked with housing providers Nacro and Stockport Homes Limited on this initiative to demonstrate what is possible when public and private investment is combined and deployed with a clear social purpose, in this case to provide quality, settled homes for those in a housing crisis. This evaluation reinforces that, when paired with the right partners, capital can be used not just to increase housing supply, but to deliver better quality homes in the right locations, with improved outcomes for tenants, and meaningful savings for the public finances”.

Bernice Affat, CEO of Social and Sustainable Capital, commented: “The report reinforces that for people who have experienced homelessness, a home is a foundation rather than a solution in itself. Our partner charities consistently tell us that individuals often require broader, trauma‑informed support over time, and that stable housing is a vital part of that journey. By providing capital that enables charities to purchase and retain long‑term control over their housing, social investment can reduce reliance on high‑cost, insecure accommodation and support more stable, sustainable delivery models across the homelessness system.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

  • The Everyone In Social Investment Pilot Final Evaluation Report was published in March 2026 by the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University. PERU's research team partnered with housing researchers at the Universities of Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, and Cincinnati; research staff at the Centre for Homelessness Impact; and community reporters at People's Voice Media.
  • As the pilot did not include a control group, the evaluation did not use a randomised controlled trial or quasi-experimental design. Instead, the team used process tracing, most significant change, and economic evaluation methods to analyse the pilot's implementation and impact, drawing on housing providers' client case files, interviews, and administrative data.
  • Better Society Capital is the UK's leading social impact investor. It co-designed the SIP and partnered with MHCLG on its implementation.
  • The three fund managers involved in the SIP were Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC), Resonance, and Bridges Fund Management.
  • The evaluation covered the SASC and Resonance funds: the Social and Sustainable Housing fund (SASH), the National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2), and the Resonance Everyone In Fund (REIF).
  • Case studies were conducted with Nacro, P3, Stockport Homes Limited, and Target Housing.

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