Six local authorities invest funds in the ACCESS property solution

ACCESS has announced that a further six of its 11 Administering Authorities have made their first commitments to the pool’s property solution.

Norfolk, East Sussex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire County Councils join Essex County Council and Hampshire County Council in pooling their real estate holdings to invest in the ACCESS UK Core Fund, with an anticipated target size of £1.7 billion, and the ACCESS Global Indirect Fund, with a target size of £780 million. This brings the total aggregate target size to nearly 40% larger than anticipated at the initial tender stage.

CBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM) was appointed by ACCESS in November 2023 to manage both a UK core real estate and a global real estate mandate. As a specialist manager, CBRE IM is working in partnership with ACCESS to help leverage the cost-effective scale of pooling for its local authorities, providing both UK and global real estate investment opportunities and diversification.

Councillor Mark Kemp-Gee, Chairman of the ACCESS Joint Committee, said: “We now have a total of eight of our Administering Authorities making significant investments to ACCESS’ property solution, further demonstrating the benefits of the pooling model. Our member authorities can realise a number of positives – in this case, a unified approach, diversification and cost efficiencies – to the ultimate aid of their investment objectives for members.”

Hannah Marshall, CIO – UK Direct Real Estate at CBRE IM, said: “We are pleased to have delivered a real estate solution to ACCESS’ Administering Authorities that provides the cost-saving benefits of pooling, and the specialist transition expertise required to execute the build-up of these funds. With a further six authorities making commitments to the pool’s property solution, bringing a total of £4.1 billion of real estate assets under ACCESS pool governance, we look forward to working with ACCESS to build and manage a real estate portfolio that generates both sustainable income and long-term value.”