Border to Coast in £1bn of private equity investments

1 October 2020

Border to Coast publishes on its website:

“Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (“Border to Coast”), has secured £1bn of commitments to Private Equity investments as it continues to develop new investment opportunities for its eleven local government pension schemes, which collectively have assets of c.£46bn.

Border to Coast has completed £500m of private equity investments from its first offering (Series 1A) in line with expected timescales. The portfolio consists of ten investments with nine high quality managers providing exposure to Border to Coast’s targeted themes within Private Equity.

Border to Coast has also secured a further £485 million of commitments from eight Partner Funds to its second Private Equity offering (series 1B). These commitments are to be invested in the period to 31 March 2021 as part of a programme to provide a diversified global private equity portfolio over a three-year period.

Border to Coast Chief Investment Officer, Daniel Booth said: “Private Equity is an important asset class for our Partner Funds, helping them to build a diversified portfolio, while delivering a return that isn’t directly correlated to equity market returns. Due to our collective size we have been able to access high quality investments that will allow our Partner Funds deliver their strategic asset allocation strategies.”

The Border to Coast Private Markets structure was originally launched in May 2019 to capture the benefits of pooling private market investments for its LGPS Partner Funds. These include economies of scale, increased resources for due diligence, reduced costs and access to a wider range of investments including co-investments. The aim is to enhance risk-adjusted, net of fees returns from Private Market investments over the long term.

Private equity investments

Partner Funds can choose on an annual basis the level of their investment in private market asset classes. Eight of Border to Coast’s eleven Partner Funds made commitments in Series 1A (Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Warwickshire).

nvestments are selected using a robust investment process focusing on investment and operational due diligence. This process is undertaken by the Border to Coast team supported by third party service providers. Responsible investment is incorporated into the investment process both in terms of identifying investment opportunities as well as assessing a manager’s approach to incorporating these principles into their operations and the operations of the companies or assets in which they invest.

The investments for Series 1A are:

• GreatPoint Innovation Fund II – $40 million
• Palatine Private Equity Fund IV – £40 million
• Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VII – $60 million
• Neuberger Berman Co-Investment Fund IV – $100 million
• Greenspring Opportunities Fund VI – $60 million
• StepStone Secondaries Opportunities Fund IV – $75 million
• Hg Saturn Fund II – $90 million and Hg Genesis Fund IX – €35 million
• Blackstone Life Sciences Fund V – $70 million
• Digital Alpha Fund II – $50 million

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