Santander (U.K.) Common Investment Fund, Manchester, England, committed an initial £160 million ($274.1 million) to the Hermes GPE Infrastructure Fund, said Antony Barker, director of pensions at Santander U.K.
Mr. Barker said in a telephone interview that the £8.5 billion pension fund had made the allocation across both pooled and segregated investments, closing the segregated part in the last couple of weeks. The investment is the first dedicated infrastructure commitment for the fund.
“There is space to do more as opportunities and pricing permit,” Mr. Barker said.
Hermes Fund Managers announced Thursday that it had held an interim close for the fund and its related accounts, with a total of more than £700 million raised from U.K. local government pension funds and other investors.
Hermes manages £2.7 billion in infrastructure assets under management, including a £2 billion direct investment managed account program for the £40 billion BT Pension Scheme, London, which owns Hermes.
