AN estate agent has pledged to donate cash to a charity which will give young homeless people a place to sleep.

Tiptree Homes has teamed up with national charity Centrepoint, which is tackling youth homelessness in the UK.

For every buyer registration, the estate agency will sponsor one bed for £15, and for every house sold, it will use part of its profits to sponsor ten beds.

The family-owned business was launched during the pandemic after a year of preparation.

A spokesman for the firm said: “One of our directors in his youth has been through a homeless stage.

“It was quite a hard time for him and it’s something which is quite close to his heart.

“When were looking at things to do to help the community, we wanted to have an ethical approach to everything we do.

“We decided to reach out to a charity after doing some research and found Centrepoint who relate very much to the message we want to push out.

“We wanted to know how much it would cost to give a homeless person a bed for the night.

“We thought this is where we want to give back.”

Giving - Tiptree Homes

Giving - Tiptree Homes

The directors hope to run the scheme indefinitely.

“We’ve only been open since September of last year, so the company is very much in its infancy,” he added. “We’ve done it early days because we want to message to get out there.

“It’s something which, not only will we continue with throughout the life of the business, but we will also increase upon it.”

Centrepoint provides housing and support for young people regionally in London, Manchester, Yorkshire and the North East and through partnerships all over the UK.

Data for Colchester from 2018/19 showed 295 people aged between 16 and 24 were homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Tara Willoughby, corporate development assistant at Centrepoint, said: “We are so grateful for the support of businesses such as Tiptree Homes, especially during this challenging time for everyone.

“We have seen an increase in demand for our services with calls to Centrepoint’s helpline jumping by more than 50 per cent during the first lockdown when compared to the months leading up to it.”