The private company, which owns property worth more than 拢1.2bn, has set itself an "achievable" target of building 10,000 homes across the country by 2008.
A programme of that size would make Asset Trust one of the UK's largest developers of social housing, rivalling top developing associations such as the Peabody Trust, which built 3885 homes last year.
Giles McKay, a partner at Asset Trust, said: "The government has examined our business model for investment and has seen what we are trying to do. We are not expecting any subsidy or practical help.
"We are, however, waiting to hear what kind of process or form of due diligence the government would like us to go through.
"Investors have stayed away from social housing because they can't get the level of returns they want quickly enough and they can't receive social housing grant.
"We believe we have an innovative investment model that will allow us to compete in areas where little government grant is provided."
It is likely that the company would focus on areas of high demand where Housing Corporation funding is often stretched thinly.
A spokesman for the ODPM said: "We are studying the model for investing in social housing advanced by Asset Trust, and expect to make an announcement later this autumn."
McKay gave little away about the business model by which the company believes it can make a profit out of social housing, while guaranteeing high standards to tenants.
But it would not rely on potentially receiving social housing grant under controversial proposals to give the grant to private developers, he added.
"There is high demand for social housing and we would be prepared for long-term investment 鈥� we would be investors in perpetuity, in fact," McKay said.
Source
Housing Today
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