Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has committed £80m (€93.3m) to UK assets through investments in a life science fund managed by UBS Asset Management’s Real Estate & Private Markets and a renewables impact fund managed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.
The £52.3bn UK local government pension scheme (LGPS) pool owned by 11 partner funds said it has placed £40m each into the UBS UK Life Sciences Property strategy and Quinbrook Renewables Impact Fund (QRIF) II fund.
Launched in 2022, the UBS UK life sciences property strategy employs a build-to-core approach, targeting development opportunities in the life sciences sector, with a particular emphasis on good manufacturing practice facilities. The fund has already acquired assets in the ‘golden triangle’ region encompassing Cambridge, Oxford and London.
Border to Coast’s capital commitment to QRIF II will support the development of projects including the Mallard Pass solar farm, a 2,000-acre site on the Rutland/Lincolnshire border projected to generate sufficient energy to power 92,000 UK households over the next 30 years. The investment will also support battery storage facilities and initiatives aimed at decarbonising commercial vehicles and enhancing public charging infrastructure.
Border to Coast said the latest £80m investment is being made through its UK opportunities portfolio which, as of 1 April this year, had received a further £2.5bn in capital commitments from its LGPS partner funds, taking its total size to £18bn.
Joe McDonnell, CIO, Border to Coast, said: “With the support of our partner funds, we have continued to leverage our expertise and deep relationships with the industry to secure strong investment opportunities.
“The UK opportunities strategy offers investments that both deliver good risk-adjusted returns over the long run with the added benefit of improving the infrastructure of the UK. That’s additional value that members can enjoy in addition to returns.”
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