Mustard Seed Property

The big picture

Mustard Seed Property (MSP) has a vision of providing affordable and supported ‘forever homes’ to people who need it most and for the last 10 years, they have delivered on this vision, actively changing lives for the better. With the right funding, they plan to scale  to provide support to all who need it, bringing a brighter future for the hundreds of vulnerable people who are forced to sleep rough in Cornwall and supporting young adults with learning disabilities through their charity partner.   Since 2007, working with its partners, MSP has provided a home for over 40 vulnerable adults with learning disabilities or at risk from homelessness. Having secured its second property to lease to a charity partner, and with the purchase of a third, by 2022 it should be able to house, with partners’ support, at least 16 more people each year. In some cases, this will be the first move towards further independence, but for others, this could be a home for life.

The big raises

To support their vision of affordable and secure homes for all, MSP has raised finance through two community share offers with Ethex. Access to this type of patient and affordable capital has enabled them to fulfil their goal of purchasing and refurbishing two properties in Cornwall, which they have been able to lease to groups such as the St Petroc’s Society and Karrek Community, who work to find tenants that are in need of this type of housing and support. Thanks to money raised via these share offers, they have now purchased a third property and are currently developing this to help even more vulnerable people - providing a brighter and more secure future.

• In 2018, 60 people invested more than £340,000 in a community share offer which meant MSP could finance the purchase of one new property in Cornwall.
• In 2020, 260 people invested £600,000 in a community share offer, allowing them to fully refurbish their second property in Cornwall and purchase the third.
• While investors in the Mustard Seed Property raise are primarily concerned about impact, the fact that they have been receiving returns every year for a decade has helped build a base of dedicated investors which continues to grow with every raise.