Border to Coast, a pool for 11 UK local government pension funds, has committed £48.5m to build renewable energy infrastructure.

This marks the inaugural commitment of the pool's UK opportunities portfolio, which operates on behalf of partner funds. The investment aims to drive the expansion of new clean energy generation, supporting UK energy security and net-zero goals. Border to Coast chief investment officer, Joe McDonnell, said the deal was not only a strong investment opportunity but also had the ability to have a tangible impact on the future pipeline of renewable energy infrastructure that the UK needs to reduce its reliance on oil and gas, and meet net-zero goals.

Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI) has hit its net cost savings target one year early.

LPPI increased its annual net cost savings to £48.5m in the year to 31 March 2024, taking its total net cost savings since the pool launched in 2016 to £201.7m, up from £153.2m to 31 March 2023. The surge in net cost savings means that LPPI has reached its target of delivering net cost savings of £200m a year early. Savings were driven by various factors, including lower fees negotiated with external managers and a growing portfolio of direct investment and co-investment, which complements allocations to external managers. LPPI chief executive officer, Chris Rule, said the fund has benefited from having a "pooling scale from the outset."

Access LGPS Pool has reached £50bn in assets under management (AUM).

The collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires composed of 11 LGPS administering authorities revealed that listed assets held in its Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS) have broken through the £30bn mark. The passive mandates, managed by UBS, total £12.6bn. Access has recently focused on alternative mandates, including £1.8bn in infrastructure, £4.7bn in real estate, and £900m in timber. The £50bn milestone takes the pooling progress of Access to over 75 per cent. The pool also revealed it is currently working on private equity and private debt mandates. The outcome of these searches will be announced in December 2024.

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