The Alas Invest fund has completed the acquisition of nine buildings for affordable rental housing, a deal worth €102 million that marks a significant step in its growth strategy. The purchase was made from the Salas Foundation, an organisation involved in social housing development, according to El Confidencial.
The deal enables Alas Invest to add a total of 643 homes spread across the Community of Madrid and Catalonia. All the properties are subject to some form of public protection, ensuring their long-term use for affordable housing.
The fund, which began operating approximately a year ago, was established with the aim of becoming a benchmark for impact investing in the residential property sector. Since its inception, it has focused exclusively on affordable rental housing as a means of improving access to housing.
The acquired properties located in the Community of Madrid are situated in Humanes, Torrejón de la Calzada and Velilla de San Antonio. In Catalonia, the properties are spread across Terrassa, Martorell, Olesa de Montserrat and Mataró. The first development to become operational will be the one in Humanes, which has already opened the registration process for prospective tenants. The remaining buildings will be gradually introduced into the rental market by the end of the year.
The established rental model sets prices between 20% and 25% below market levels. Furthermore, a key condition has been established: the monthly rent may not exceed one-third of the tenant households’ income. This approach aims to ensure genuine housing affordability, preventing situations of over-indebtedness and promoting residential stability for families. The objective is to strengthen social cohesion through more balanced access to rental housing.
To make the operation possible, Alas has received support from the Social Impact Fund of the Secretariat for Inclusion, which has invested €11 million through a second-lien loan. This financing structure has been key, as the acquired buildings are subject to existing mortgages. The loan offers an estimated return of around 8% and has a term of 15 years. Its purpose is not limited to financial returns, but seeks to drive structural changes in access to housing in Spain.
In this context, the Official Credit Institute (ICO) has also played a significant role, supporting the investment vehicle’s expansion strategy. This institutional support reinforces the fund’s status as a social impact project.
The Alas Invest model operates under the framework of a Social Benefit and Common Interest Company, a category created in 2022 to promote investments with measurable social impact. Since its launch, the fund has worked to consolidate this approach as the basis of its activity. The financial strategy also aims to create a stable platform capable of delivering recurring returns of 3% to 4% once the asset portfolio has stabilised. This objective combines moderate returns with direct social impact.
Furthermore, the ICO has expressed a willingness to increase its stake in future vehicles of the same type, which could significantly boost the project’s investment capacity. In expansion scenarios, public funding could rise substantially. Currently, Alas’s new investment vehicle has commitments for the acquisition of 15 additional buildings, with a capital requirement of €67 million. Under this arrangement, the ICO would provide around 49% of the capital.
