On 9 June, Barcelona hosted “ALAS: Housing with Impact. How to Invest in, Finance and Preserve Affordable Housing over the Long Term”, an event organised by ALAS that brought together representatives from the housing sector, impact investing, public administration, and the financial and real estate industries.
Manel Rodríguez, CEO of ALAS, opened the event by explaining how ALAS Vivienda Asequible is progressing in raising investment for ALAS I INVEST, its long-term asset-holding SOCIMI (Spanish REIT) created to drive the development and preservation of long-term affordable rental housing. The vehicle’s capital is 49% held by the ICO (Spain’s Official Credit Institute) and 51% by private funds. It is currently in its fundraising phase, with a target of €70 million, of which €44 million has already been committed, to acquire around 20 buildings that will add approximately 1,600 new homes to the affordable rental market.
The initiative is part of ALAS’s strategy to channel capital into the turnkey acquisition of residential buildings that combine financial returns with measurable social impact, in high-demand locations such as the Madrid region, Málaga, Ibiza and similar areas.
During the session, Manel Rodríguez, CEO of ALAS Vivienda Asequible, stated: “We are very pleased with the response we have received and the interest generated. We are confident that we can complete the fundraising process and bring these homes to market, pursuing two goals: on the one hand, delivering the returns that long-term investors expect from a calm, secure, stable, long-term investment model, with an expected return of 8.5%; and on the other, bringing 1,600 affordable rental homes to market, helping to tackle the housing problem and generating a very significant positive impact.”
Next, Alejandra Mora, Operating Partner at ALAS Vivienda Asequible, presented the A.L.A.S. indicator model, a proprietary tool developed by the company to continuously measure the social impact generated by affordable housing. The system includes indicators relating to household economic stability, health and wellbeing, education, employment and community ties, making it possible to assess outcomes beyond the number of homes developed or managed.
The event continued with a round table moderated by Alejandra Mora, featuring Carme Trilla, President of Cohabitac; Marcel Prunera, Chairman of GuinotPrunera and trustee of the Ship2be Foundation; and Pablo Esteban, board member of Eurosif and Deputy Director General of SpainSIF.
The discussion highlighted that, in the current context of housing shortages and growing demand for accessible residential solutions, the challenge no longer lies solely in building homes, but in the ability to structure investment vehicles that offer governance, transparency and management standards compatible with the requirements of institutional capital.
The panellists agreed that operational asset management and rigorous social impact measurement are no longer add-ons tied to ESG criteria, but have become fundamental variables in risk analysis and long-term value creation.
In a European market where patient capital and sustainable finance are seeking opportunities backed by solid, resilient assets, the consolidation of affordable housing as an asset class increasingly depends on platforms capable of providing scale, traceability and consistent management standards.
In this context, it was explained how ALAS Invest I has been designed to reconcile the structural need for affordable housing with the risk-adjusted return requirements of the institutional market, through a model built on three core pillars: rigour and eligibility for sustainable capital, comprehensive management focused on preserving value, and scalability for capital markets.
Pablo Esteban, board member of Eurosif and Deputy Director General of SpainSIF, stated: “Establishing affordable housing as a genuine asset class requires advanced traceability and measurement systems that make it possible to assess its social, environmental and financial impact using consistent criteria. To achieve this, it is essential to have scalable technology platforms that integrate indicators on affordability, residential stability, vulnerability and social return, enabling data-driven management that is comparable nationwide. It is also vital that public administrations, housing operators, financial institutions and investors share a common language and aligned reporting standards. Only then will it be possible to build the transparency, trust and scale needed to attract institutional capital and access capital markets through sustainable investment vehicles.”
For her part, Carme Trilla, President of Cohabitac, emphasised: “Social rental housing in Spain needs an almost entirely new operating framework, because we have very little experience. So all the instruments for development, management and, above all, financing are only just emerging, hence the importance of creating vehicles like ALAS and of the wider reflection around the financing we will need in the medium and long term.”
The conclusion of the event was clear: ALAS Vivienda Asequible now enters a decisive phase to complete the fundraising for ALAS Invest I, a vehicle designed to channel institutional capital towards one of the country’s most pressing structural needs. The company continues to make progress towards its €70 million target, backed by a model that combines risk-adjusted returns, measurable social impact and a robust governance structure. The interest shown by private and institutional investors in recent months reinforces the conviction that affordable housing is becoming established as a new asset class capable of attracting long-term capital while delivering sustainable, scalable housing solutions for thousands of families.
