Border to Coast invests more than £575 Million in Private Credit

6 May 2021

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (“Border to Coast”), one of the largest public sector pension pools in the UK with total assets of c.£46bn, has committed more than half a billion pounds in six Private Credit funds as it continues to provide new investment opportunities for its 11 local government pensions scheme partners.

The six high quality investments are the first Private Credit commitments Border to Coast has made and is part of its £3bn Private Markets programme, which also covers Private Equity and Infrastructure.

Mark Lyon, Head of Internal Management at Border to Coast, said: “Private Credit is a key asset class for our Partner Funds as they seek attractive investment opportunities, income and diversification of risk.

“We are very pleased with the continued deployment of capital within our Private Markets programme and the completion of our first offering for Private Credit. As a result of our scale and early engagement, we have been able to generate meaningful fee savings for our Partner Funds.”

Investments are selected using a robust and responsible investment process focusing on investment and operational due diligence. This process is undertaken by Border to Coast’s internal portfolio management team with support from several service providers. As part of the due diligence process, Border to Coast is developing longer-term relationships with key industry participants to enable Partner Funds to collectively benefit from their investments in Private Markets.

Border to Coast is also leading the industry to improve the integration of ESG factors into Private Markets. It is working with investment consultant Albourne, which has launched a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework for Alternatives (including Private Credit). This framework is based on the recommended due diligence questions (DDQs) set out by the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and covers Policy and Governance; Investment Process and Monitoring; and Reporting.

Source: Border to Coast Pension Partnership