Aviva Investors has made a £40.3m investment in Brydell Partners, a private UK real estate investment firm.

It is the first real estate debt investment made by Aviva Investors' multi-sector private debt long-term asset fund (MSPD LTAF) since its launch in November 2024 and its third overall. The new fund has received an initial £750m of investment capital from Aviva's ‘My Future Focus’ default pensions solution, which invests in a broad range of asset classes on behalf of the firm's auto-enrolment defined contribution (DC) default strategies. Aviva Investors said it expects MSPD LTAF to be particularly appealing to DC pension funds looking to diversify returns from traditional asset classes such as public equity and fixed income, wider private markets allocations and single private debt strategies. Aviva Investors head of high yield strategies, Sima Kotecha, added: "We are pleased to establish a relationship with Brydell. This investment marks a significant step for our MSPD LTAF, illustrating our increased appetite to lend across the yield curve. This will create more investment opportunities for a greater range of investor client needs and deliver bespoke financing to a broad pool of borrower clients."

Legal & General has announced the acquisition of the first build-to-rent site in partnership with Nest and PGGM.

The announcement follows the recent launch of the partnership, which aims to build thousands of high-quality rental homes, seeking to deliver stable financial returns for institutional investors. Legal & General’s (L&G) investment expedites the capital deployment of the portfolio, which is expected to grow to £1bn in the coming years. The development, known as F1, will deliver sustainable rental accommodation in the New Jackson neighbourhood of Deansgate, Manchester. L&G head of residential, Dan Batterton, commented on the announcement: "This partnership demonstrates how investment from domestic pension schemes and international private capital can support the UK government's push to boost investment into productive assets, accelerate growth, and deliver pensions savings. We've been highly selective when exploring potential sites, and the outstanding characteristics of this development reflect this rigorous and detailed process. With a thriving economy and a rising number of professionals working and aspiring to live in the city centre, the rental market in Manchester is robust.”

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has launched pensions administration careers video for National Careers Week.

The SPP noted that the pensions administration sector is experiencing a shortage of skilled talent, with a recent survey from The Pensions Regulator revealing that 80 per cent of administrators felt that recruiting administration personnel was a challenge. Given this, the group shared a bite size video setting out how anyone in the UK can pursue a career in this rewarding sector amid National Careers Week. This is a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. The video sets out what pensions administration is, the types of roles and responsibilities in the sector, why such a career is recommended and what’s needed e.g. skills, experience, qualifications etc.

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