Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has invested £50m (€57.1m) in UK utility Portsmouth Water to help build a reservoir in western South East England.

The specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds said the capital will help fund the construction of the Havant Thicket Reservoir project.

Havant Thicket Reservoir will be the first major new water storage reservoir in the UK since the 1980s. The project, expected to be completed in 2029, will hold approximately 8.7bn litres of water.

Last month, Ancala Partners said it was investing a further £150m in its portfolio company Portsmouth Water to help build Havant Thicket Reservoir. Ancala also said it had helped Portsmouth Water to secure a £280m financing package to support the construction of project.

Thomas Foucoin, senior debt origination manager at PIC, said: “We are very pleased to have completed our first investment with Portsmouth Water to finance the UK’s first new reservoir for over 30 years.

“This is a major infrastructure project which will play a critical role in ensuring adequate water supply to local communities across the South East of England, and aligns well with PIC’s own values and purpose.”

The investment provides a good match for PIC’s pension liabilities with stable and predictable consumer price index-linked cash-flows, PIC said.

Bob Taylor, Portsmouth Water’s CEO, said the firm had secured the £325m investment required to construct Havant Thicket Reservoir.

Taylor said: ”This will be the first large-scale water storage reservoir to be built in the UK since the 1990s. It will play a key role in protecting internationally important chalk rivers – the River Test and the River Itchen, by securing a new, sustainable source of water for the region.

“This is an exciting time for the project. We have recently taken a major step forward in awarding the main reservoir works contract and, with all capital and investment now secured, look forward to work progressing on site.”

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