Housing association Places for People is hoping to raise £100m through a new retail bond aimed at individual savers.

Investors will get a return of 5 per cent annually compared to about 3 per cent for most instant-access savings accounts, although the risk to the investor is greater.

Places for People is the first housing association to launch a retail bond and has employed investment bank Evolution Securities to arrange it.

The bonds will be quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s Order Book for Retail Bonds (ORB) platform which launched two years ago encourage individuals to buy bonds.

Investors can buy and sell bonds only through a stockbroker or wealth manager and the minimum subscription is £2,000.

Bonds are being offered to people in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey until 17 June and will be issued on 27 June with interest being paid in two instalments a year until December 2016.

Originally the association hoped to raise £50m from the bond but has doubled the issue size due to high demand.

Places for People has recently raised £175m on the wholesale bonds market with a 20-year bond paying 5.85 per cent.