Acorn targets “generous returns” with its latest IFISA product
Acorn Property Group has launched its latest ISA-friendly investment product, offering “sizeable” returns.
With a minimum investment of £5,000, investors can support a new development project in the Cotswolds and receive a fixed rate of nine per cent per annum, tax free.
“We decided to launch an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA)-friendly investment because a lot of our investors are looking for tax-free ways of investing in our development projects,” says Melanie Omirou, executive group managing director at Acorn Property Group.
“These investments are becoming an increasingly popular way for people to diversify into property when they might not have enough money to buy their own property. It’s a great way to become involved. Peer-to-peer investors want to work with housebuilders with a real solid, proven track record, not people that are just literally starting out, looking for backing. And we offer generous returns. So that was something else that we thought would be beneficial to people.”
Since the IFISA-friendly investment product was officially launched in March, it has become more and more popular with investors, and Acorn has seen a number of investors transferring funds from other ISAs. But the IFISA launch plans were really set in motion back in mid-2021, when Acorn Property Group began discussing the possibility of launching tax-efficient investments in conjunction with Simple Crowdfunding. After a great deal of research, the company opted to create an IFISA-friendly investment product.
The first development to be introduced within the Simple Crowdfunding IFISA wrapper is a development of 45 new homes which are being built in the Cotswolds village of Sherston.
“The houses have been designed to blend in with the local architecture,” says Omirou. “They’ll be built according to the Acorn Green principles, with an energy performance certificate of A and air-source heat pumps.”
Acorn has been a staunch advocate of green builds, and launched Acorn Green to ensure that the company continues its commitment to environmentally-friendly construction.
Along with the launch of the IFISA-friendly investment product, Acorn is ramping up its efforts to educate investors on the benefits of ethical property investing and empowering them with the ability to make more informed decisions. This outreach also enables Acorn to get a better sense of what investors are really looking for, which will help inform future product launches.
“Because we’ve had such a positive response from investors wanting tax-free returns, we’re definitely looking to offer more of this type of fixed-rate, fixed-term investment in an individual Acorn development or, potentially, across multiple projects,” Omirou explains.
“We might say we’re building three housing schemes in North Somerset, for instance, and people can invest across the three. That’s something we’re looking at. We’re continuing to add to our range of investment options all the time.”
Next up is a Shariah-compliant investment product targeting returns of between five per cent and 9.5 per cent per annum, as Acorn continues to deliver the type of investment products that its investors truly want.