LGPS – Wiltshire Council Pension Fund: £100m commitment to South West renewables

13 October 2023

LGPS – Wiltshire Council Pension Fund publishes on its website:

We are thrilled to announce our commitment of £100 million to the Wessex Gardens fund, managed by Schroders Greencoat. With total commitments on closing of £330 million, this fund is dedicated to accelerating the development of renewable assets across the South West of England.

To make this ambitious endeavour possible, we have joined forces with five other LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) funds: Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

Wessex Gardens will play a crucial role as a cornerstone investment within Wiltshire Pension Fund’s Climate Opportunities (Clops) portfolio. The Clops portfolio is a broadly diversified multi-asset portfolio that focuses on investing in renewable infrastructure and climate solutions across both listed and unlisted asset classes. This strategic allocation accounts for 7% of the Fund’s investments, reflecting our strong commitment to sustainable investing.

This significant investment underlines our dedication to contribute actively to the green energy transition, boosting the supply of clean and renewable energy throughout the South West. With a strong pipeline of investments, we anticipate a diverse portfolio potentially including assets such as solar, battery storage, geothermal, hydrogen, and community heating projects. This strategic investment closely aligns with our vision and goals, emphasising “positive impact” and “strong risk-adjusted returns.”

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “We are thrilled to be involved in this collaboration with other LGPS funds. Together we can use our scale to make a substantial, widespread positive impact, actively investing in and benefiting from the transition to a low carbon economy. To be able to deliver this impact across the South West and support business and societies in greening their grid is fantastic. We’re delighted to be working with Schroders Greencoat again, and levelling up our impact across the region.”

Our overarching goal is to earn strong financial returns for the Fund, and wherever possible we want to achieve this by investing in assets that also generate a positive impact. This investment ticks both those boxes, and also aligns with the views of our membership as highlighted from a recent engagement survey we carried out. Together with our partners and Schroders Greencoat, we are actively contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable energy landscape whilst also targeting commercial financial returns, delivering a real win/win investment!