Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) and Blackrock have teamed up to invest up to £1bn in NHS property across the UK by 2030.
The venture launches with a seed portfolio of 65 purpose-built primary care assets serving over 700,000 patients across England, Scotland and Wales.
It aims to attract third-party capital to acquire, upgrade and expand primary healthcare centres providing frontline general practitioner and NHS services in local communities.
The move comes as the number of open and active GP practices in England declined by about 15% between January 2018 and July 2025, according to the Royal College of GPs. Around 20% of local GP estates predate the founding of the NHS in 1948.
The venture will finance refurbishment and development projects, as well as projects to improve the sustainability and operational resilience of the assets. It is intended to support the NHS by helping modernise healthcare provision in local communities.
Eleanor Wills, chair of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, said: “This partnership allows us to back high-quality, purpose-built facilities that directly align with the NHS Long Term Plan, improve patient experience, and provide stable, inflation-linked returns over decades with strong potential for growth.”
John Benham, head of UK open-ended funds at Blackrock, said: “Together with GMPF, we are bringing our deep knowledge of unique public-private sector dynamics to unlock one of the largest private market opportunities for capital to invest in the social infrastructure underpinning UK primary care.”
UK Minister for Investment Lord Stockwood said: “With this new joint venture, Greater Manchester Pension Fund’s £150m cornerstone investment into our country’s healthcare real estate will help boost provision and accessibility for hundreds of thousands of patients in local communities. With financial services identified as a key sector in our modern industrial strategy, we’re encouraging greater investment from UK pension schemes into critical infrastructure projects at the heart of our communities.”
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