Impactful investment in the future of housing
Patient capital. Tangible assets. Permanent impact.
Back Collective Ownership and help us build a portfolio of secure, resident-controlled homes – with surplus recycled, forever.
Why Now?
Over 1 million private renters in London alone, in a housing model that's still failing them. Collective Ownership offers a route out: stable, resident-controlled homes funded by patient capital. Investments are the fuel.
The Case
Why this works as an investment
Capital in tangible property assets. Lease income covers servicing. Surplus is reinvested.
Asset-backed
Investments in a property portfolio.
Scalable
Portfolio ongoingly unlocks more and better finance.
Predictable income
Lease rents underpin stable returns.
Mission-locked
Assets held long term in a not-for-profit structure in common ownership.
Investment offer
Download our Investment Offer.
- Pledge: Investors commit capital.
- £10,000 minimum amount
- Fixed term: choose from 5, 10, 15, or 20 year investments.
- Lease Income: Rent collected.
- More Homes: Surplus recycled to acquire more properties.
Pledge investment or donations
Longer-term investments, with lower returns, allow lower initial rents. Every pound enters a recycling loop.
🧮 Estimate Your Bond Return
Illustrative only — not financial advice. Bonds are not FSCS-protected. You may lose some or all of your investment.
📈 Interest payout
FAQ
Download detailed FAQs for new groups.
What is the Collective Ownership Society?
The Collective Ownership Society (COS) is an FCA-registered Co-operative Society (Registered Society 5357) acting as a specialised not-for-profit, high-impact and efficient investment vehicle dedicated to addressing housing insecurity and control in the UK. Collective Ownership pools resources from socially minded investors to purchase a portfolio of real estate assets and leases them on to groups of residents organised as housing co-operatives (Member Co-ops). Properties are mutualised and held long term to leverage economic power and deliver growth, while Member Co-ops have direct control over the day-to-day management of their homes.
COS receives a steady rental income stream from the leases to Members Co-ops to provide a fair financial return to investors. Rather than investing to support individual one-off housing schemes, investments into COS is about high impact and systemic change, contributing to growing a collective asset portfolio and rental income stream to perpetually expand the number of secure, affordable and resident-controlled homes.
COS offers investments in the form of bonds (also known as loan stock) as well as secured debt instruments for large investors. Bonds can be issued to individuals, organisations, or residents who want to support the mission of Collective Ownership of growing fair, not-for-profit, resident-controlled housing.
Other kinds of support to the mission can be provided in the form donations, direct property asset transfers or loan guarantees.
What is a bond?
When you invest in COS, your capital is used to purchase properties that are then leased to Member Co-ops. The lease rent paid by co-ops creates a steady income stream that:
- Services debt repayments on mortgages and investments
- Builds a major works fund for capital improvements
- Covers building insurance costs and professional fees for admin, surveys, legal work etc
- Creates reserves to acquire more properties
The better the terms of investment (lower interest rate, longer term/period), the more affordable their starting rent can be.
If you have a connection to a particular member co-op and want to invest in them specifically this can help to reduce their initial lease rent by allocating your investment to fund their specific property.
What will my investment be used for?
Investment in COS plays a crucial role in making this alternative housing solution possible. It directly helps people to get housed by providing the capital required to finance property purchases, and make those projects viable at sub-market and affordable rents. The more investment COS raises, the less the model requires traditional mortgages and the more affordable the rent levels can be. Moreover the impact of your investment has a multiplier effect over time since each property asset brought in to Collective Ownership contributes to leveraging additional property purchases in perpetuity:
Immediate impact:
- Each investment helps COS purchase properties for member co-ops
- Residents gain security, stability, and democratic control over their homes
- People who would otherwise be stuck in precarious private renting gain long-term housing
Medium-term impact:
- Lease rent payments create steady income that funds further property purchases
- Your investment enables multiple housing projects over its lifetime
- Communities develop governance skills, social capital, and mutual support
- Model demonstrates viable alternative to private rental market
Long-term impact:
- Properties are permanently removed from speculative market
- Intergenerational benefits, as co-ops continue to house future residents
- Growing movement influences wider housing policy and practice
- Surplus reinvested to expand collective ownership indefinitely
What is the rate of interest offered by COS?
The default rate of return on COS bonds is between 0% – 3% per annum, at the investor’s discretion. The lower the rate chosen by investors, the more supportive it is to the COS mission and the more affordable the rent will be for residents. Specific interest rates can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis for investment above £100,000.
What are the minimum and maximum investments in COS?
Investment in COS can be anything between £5,000 and £10,000,000 per investor (there is no maximum if the investor is a corporate body).
What are the minimum and maximum terms of investment?
The minimum investment period is 5 years and there is no maximum. We tend to favour longer term investments of over 10 years, as this gives us more flexibility.
Investment example:
- Investment amount: £75,000
- Interest rate chosen by the investor: 2.75%
- Term length: 10 years
- Total compound interest payment: £23,374
- Total repayment at the end of the term (capital + interest): £98,374
Are bonds issued by COS secured or unsecured?
COS can offer both secured and unsecured bonds. Security is provided through a legal charge against real estate assets owned by COS. The type of security offered to investors depends primarily on the investment amount and each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Investment below £150,000 are usually unsecured, investment below £1m are usually not eligible for a primary charge (but could have secondary or tertiary security).
Are COS bonds transferable to someone else?
No, COS bonds cannot be transferred to somebody else, except in the case of death where they are passed on as part of the estate.
Can I get my money back before the end of the term?
The principle of bonds is that the term is fixed. However investors can make requests for early repayment, and while COS will do its best to service those requests, investors must bear in mind that there is no guarantee or obligation for COS to repay bonds before the end of the term.
Why invest in COS rather than investing in individual housing co-ops?
Investing in COS directly has several advantages:
For investors:
- COS is professionally managed with expert governance and financial oversight
- Better risk distribution across multiple properties and co-ops
- Higher and longer-term social impact (below)
Impact on the housing sector:
- Ongoing and revolving impact: properties purchased with your investment help to leverage investment in perpetuity.
- COS keeps on growing an asset portfolio and track record and as such can secure better financing terms than new individual projects for future projects.
- Pooled investment allows COS to act quickly when properties become available
- Enables cross-subsidy where needed to support co-ops serving lower-income groups
- Ensures long-term sustainability and growth of the sector
Stories
What our investors are saying
NEW TEXT GOES HERE
Description to go here on what the next actions are