Border to Coast announces final investments in first £5.7bn private markets programme

14 July 2022

Border to Coast Pension Partnership publishes on its website: “

• With £1.5bn of new commitments, Border to Coast has now committed all £5.7bn of its initial three-year Private Markets programme.
• The programme has delivered a c.24% reduction in fees while providing access to a wide range of investments, including specialist sectors and managers.
• Border to Coast has established effective long-term relationships with the investment industry while driving improved ESG standards in private markets.

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (“Border to Coast”) has completed investment in its initial £5.7bn Private Markets programme (“Series 1”), successfully securing a diverse range of new investment opportunities for its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Partner Funds and delivering a c.24% reduction in fees.

First launched in 2019, the three-year programme focused on infrastructure, private equity and private credit and, taking advantage of Border to Coast’s scale, aimed to secure cost-effective access to private markets and the potential for enhanced long-term returns on behalf of its Partner Funds. In total, the programme invested into 61 funds and made three co-investments.

The final tranche of the programme was announced in June 2021 and has now been completed with £1.5bn of new commitments to infrastructure (£307m), private credit (£915m), and private equity (£232m) funds.

As a responsible investor, Border to Coast has embedded Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into its investment process, and continues to work with the industry to enhance standards in this area.

“The success of our Private Markets programme is a prime example of the benefits pooling offers. It has delivered cost-effective access to investments that our Partner Funds in the LGPS may not have otherwise been able to access, and which offer the potential for attractive long-term, risk adjusted returns. It is managed by our experienced and dedicated private markets team which provides strengthened governance, oversight, improved market access, and a commitment to driving standards on responsible investment and stewardship of assets.

“With all £5.7bn of assets committed within our first programme, we are now looking ahead to the opportunities we can pursue as part of our second programme – which included the innovative Climate Opportunities proposition – and continuing to deliver significant benefits for our Partner Funds.””

Source: Border to Coast