A joint infrastructure venture by two U.K. pension funds has made its first investment, committing £60 million ($92.6 million) to Iona Capital to fund the construction and operation of British renewable energy assets.
The £16 billion Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Manchester, England, and the £4.6 billion London Pensions Fund Authority, launched a £500 million joint venture to invest in infrastructure in January.
A spokesman for the LPFA confirmed the commitment to Iona Capital to invest in U.K. renewable energy assets. The first investment is £9 million for a biomass plant, Leeming Biogas.
Several more projects are soon to be confirmed, said a joint statement by the pension funds; the entire £500 million commitment is to be fully allocated over the next two years.
“The capital we have allocated will allow both funds to increase investment in U.K. infrastructure while at the same time delivering the societal benefit of developing renewable energy projects across the country, including the North West,” said Kieran Quinn, Tameside Council leader and chairman of the GMPF.
The remaining allocated capital will be used to target a diversified and balanced portfolio of between five and 10 U.K. bioenergy infrastructure projects.
A spokesman for Tameside said besides this partnership, GMPF has a separate 4% allocation to infrastructure.
