In the media:
Australian Financial Review – Goldman Sachs backs disability housing in $137m deal with Synergis
OnImpact – Goldman Sachs Invests $137M Into Disability Housing Provider Synergis Fund
Deal Street Asia – Goldman invests in Synergis, online car dealer Carma nets $20m
IPE Real Assets – Goldman Sachs AM invests in Australian disability housing fund
Social Ventures Australia welcomes the investment by Goldman Sachs Asset Management in Synergis, which will help deliver much needed homes for people with disability.
SVA and Federation Asset Management established the Synergis Fund with a vision for every person with disability in Australia to have access to a high quality, safe and stable home. The model puts people with disability at the centre of all that we do, with a core focus on generating positive outcomes. Since its establishment in 2019, Synergis has committed over $70 million across 50 properties that will provide homes for over 150 Australians living with a disability.
Synergis reached a significant milestone towards its goal of providing homes for more than 2,000 people with disability, with the announcement that Goldman Sachs Asset Management will become a key investor in the platform and is targeting total equity deployment of at least $137 million.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management will join existing Synergis investors including the Paul Ramsay Foundation, HESTA, Laurie Macri’s Portcullis House and Suncorp Group – making Synergis one of the largest investors in Australia’s disability housing sector.
There is a significant gap between the number of people eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) under the NDIS, and the amount of appropriate housing currently available in the market. The new investment will make a significant contribution to addressing this shortage in housing supply, and provide homes for over 2,000 people who do currently not have access to appropriate housing.
Suzie Riddell, CEO of SVA, said:
‘This is an important milestone, for Synergis but also for disability housing in Australia. SVA and Federation created Synergis because we wanted to address the lack of appropriate housing for people with disability.’
‘An investment on this scale shows that models like Synergis, that put people’s needs first, really do work.
We hope this encourages a systemic change in the disability housing sector in Australia and that delivering high quality homes in a broad range of housing types for people who greatly need them, where they need them, becomes the norm.’
Investment by Goldman Sachs Asset Management will also contribute to the recognition of disability housing as an emerging investment class. This is important in order to attract the type of large-scale funding needed to address the shortage of appropriate housing that will allow Australians with disability to be able to exercise choice and control in their housing options.
New social and affordable housing is much needed for all people in Australia to thrive. SVA is working with partners to ensure there is an adequate supply of stable and appropriate housing so that nobody is left without a home.
You can read more in the SVA Quarterly article ‘Putting tenants first’ about how the Synergis Fund is helping to fill a critical gap in the market by providing high-quality, long-term homes that meet tenants’ needs.
