Border to Coast boosts private markets investments by £1.2 billion

Border to Coast has committed a further £1.2 billion to private markets, as part of the £2.7 billion private markets programme announced in July 2021 that was deployed across a range of new infrastructure, private equity, and private credit funds.

Launched in May 2019, Border to Coast’s private markets programme offers LGPS partner funds access to a wider range of investments – including co-investments – to provide enhanced, diversified, risk adjusted returns.

The selection process focuses on investment and operational due diligence, undertaken by the internal Border to Coast team, supported by third party providers. The incorporation of ESG and responsible investment considerations into their investment process are key components.

The first two tranches saw a respective £1.8 billion and £1.2 billion invested into private markets. With the commitments for further tranches, the private markets programme is now at £5.7 billion.

The investments include £593 million to four infrastructure funds, £426 million to four private equity funds, and £148 million to one private credit fund.

“We continue to build portfolios that are diversified across strategies, geographies, sectors and size,” said Mark Lyon, head of internal management at Border to Coast.

The portfolio incorporates a mix of high quality established managers that can often be difficult to access, said Lyons, alongside sector specialists with deep expertise and emerging managers with differentiated offerings. Building strong, long-term relationships with managers has been a key focus.

“Wherever possible, we’ve sought to lower fees and drive value for money for our partner funds through our scale, early engagement, co-investments and being considered a long-term partner.”

Lyons continued “Investing in private markets is an effective way for our partner funds to diversify their investments, generate stable cash flows, and benefit from long-term capital growth.”