Border to Coast launches new £2.3 billion private markets programme

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has launched the next stage (Series 2B) of its private markets programme, with £2.3 billion of commitments from its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) partner funds. These commitments take the total size of the programme, first launched in 2019, to £12 billion. More than £9 billion of previous commitments have now been deployed.

This is the second phase of the three-year Series 2 programme, which launched in April 2022. Over the next year, commitments from partner funds will be invested in infrastructure (c.£860 million), private equity (c.£600 million) and private credit (c.£850 million).

Ian Sandiford, head of alternatives at Border to Coast, said: “Due to our collective scale and dedicated investment team, we have been able to expand our partner funds’ long-term access to private market investing, secure access to quality managers and investment strategies, drive value for money and fee reductions, increasing the potential for enhanced long-term returns.”

This next tranche will seek global investments across a range of themes including software and healthcare, energy transition, and the digital and data revolution.

Funds participating in Series 2B are Bedfordshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Surrey, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Warwickshire.