Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Leeds, England, committed £2.2 billion ($2.7 billion) across private equity, infrastructure, private credit and climate opportunities in the second round of its private markets program, it said in a news release Thursday.
Border to Coast is the largest local government pension scheme pool in the U.K. whose 11 partner funds had combined assets of £60 billion as of March 31.
In May 2019 it launched a private markets program to offer partner funds access to a wider range of investments, including co-investments. Interest "has been strong" with 10 partner funds allocating to the program, a spokeswoman said. "We design all of our investment propositions in close consultation with partner funds. Exposure to private markets plays an important part in many of their long-term strategic asset allocation plans," she said in an email.
The £2.2 billion in commitments were made between April 1 and Sept. 30, and cover private equity, private credit, infrastructure and the pool's first commitments in a climate opportunities portfolio supporting net-zero decarbonization goals.
For the £1.35 billion climate opportunities portfolio, Border to Coast committed:
- $150 million to the Brookfield Global Transition Fund.
- $144 million to the Blackstone Green Private Credit Fund.
- $110 million to BeyondNetZero, the climate investing venture of General Atlantic.
In private equity, Border to Coast committed:
- $65 million to Hg Saturn 3, a European large buyout fund, and €60 million ($62 million) to Hg Genesis X, both managed by Hg Capital.
- $120 million to Stepstone Secondaries Opportunities V, managed by StepStone Group.
- €110 million to a fund run by Nordic Capital.
- $115 million to Platinum Equity Capital Partners VI.
- $60 million to EQT Ventures III, an early-stage venture capital fund.
In infrastructure, Border to Coast committed:
- $175 million to iCON Infrastructure Partners VI managed by iCON Infrastructure Management.
- $230 million to Brookfield Infrastructure Fund V.
- $180 million to KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure II managed by KKR & Co.
- $60 million in Project MacGregor, a co-investment with DigitalBridge Group.
In private credit, Border to Coast committed $310 million to Brookfield Infrastructure Debt III and $276 million to HPS Strategic Investment Partners V, managed by HPS Investment Partners.
The total value of the private markets program is now £10 billion, according to the release.
The latest set of commitments form part of a £4 billion round that runs until March 2025 and will also focus on energy transition, digitalization and emerging markets.
