News

BORDER TO COAST IN NEW £2.7BN PRIVATE MARKETS COMMITMENTS

Posted on June 2nd, 2021

The Carlisle Citadel, Old Courthouse in Carlisle, Cumbria.

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (“Border to Coast”), one of the largest public sector pension pools in the UK with total assets of c.£55bn, has raised an additional £2.7 billion of commitments for its Private Markets investment programme as it continues to deliver new investment opportunities for its local government Partner Funds.

The commitments from ten Partner Funds (for Series 1C) represent a 90% increase in commitments for the first two tranches and brings Border to Coast’s Private Market programme to £5.7 billion. The new commitments will be invested over the next year in Private Equity, Infrastructure and Private Credit to provide a diversified range of investments. As a long-term investor, Border to Coast investments fully embed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into the investment process.

Mark Lyon, Head of Internal Management at Border to Coast, said: “The increase in commitments by our Partner Funds reflects the importance of Private Markets to deliver their investment strategies, and underscores the confidence they have in Border to Coast to deliver the right investment opportunities for them.”

“As long-term investors we recognise the real value in integrating ESG factors, giving us a richer understanding of risks and opportunities in potential investments. Through our open and transparent due diligence process we look forward to working with strategic partners who share our long term approach to investing.”

Border to Coast is leading the industry to improve the integration of ESG factors into Private Markets. As part of this it is working with investment consultant Albourne, which recently launched a new Private Markets ESG framework, based on the recommended due diligence questions set out by the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and covers Policy and Governance; Investment Process and Monitoring; and Reporting.

Funds participating in Series 1C included Bedfordshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, North Yorkshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Warwickshire.

Series 1B Final Investments

Border to Coast has also announced the final investments for its Series 1B programmes for Private Equity and Infrastructure:

Private Equity

C-Bridge Healthcare Fund V – $75m

C-Bridge is a specialist Chinese manager focused on buy and build strategies in healthcare across pharmaceutical, medical technology and hospital services. The manager has a strong value add capability through platform-building and active management and will seek to take advantage of the long term growth dynamics in Chinese healthcare markets.

GreatPoint Ventures Innovation Fund III – $50m

GreatPoint is a US-based venture capital manager focused on early stage venture investments. These are principally in revenue generating companies that are disrupting existing industries with a principal focus on enterprise software, food and nutrition, digital health and life sciences. Border to Coast previously made a commitment to Fund II in 2019 and performance to date has been encouraging.

These commitments provide exposure to several of Border to Coast’s targeted themes within Private Equity including Operational Value Add, Sector Specialists, Asia, Buy and Build, and Co-investments.

Infrastructure

EQT Infrastructure Fund V – $125m

EQT is a leading global infrastructure manager focussed on Europe and North America with a Value Add strategy and a strong focus on value creation. The manager has strong ESG credentials and a thesis-driven investment strategy that seeks to identify attractive sub-sector themes where there is typically less competition for assets.

Antin Mid-Cap Fund I – €115m

Antin is a leading European infrastructure manager with a Value Add strategy. This fund is an extension of its long-standing successful strategy with a focus on mid-cap operational assets. The manager has a strong value creation capability and has been an early mover into new sub-sectors within Infrastructure with ESG considerations fully integrated into the investment process.

These commitments provide exposure to several of Border to Coast’s targeted themes within Infrastructure including Operational Value Add, Digital Infrastructure, and Co-Investments.

Since the launch of its Private Markets programme in May 2019, Border to Coast has deployed £3bn of commitments on behalf of its Partner Funds.

Back to all News & Insights