Pension fund giant invests £100m in strategy that has…

Pension fund giant invests £100m in strategy that has already helped create hundreds of jobs

A further £100m has been invested by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) into a strategy that has already helped create hundreds of jobs.

The largest fund in the Local Government Pension Scheme has backed Gresham House’s Sustainable Infrastructure (BSIF) strategy to help 'accelerate the deployment of profitable, new solutions to address key environmental and societal challenges in the North West, and support levelling up throughout the UK'.

GMPF hopes to benefit from investment in areas such as vertical farming, biodiversity net gain (BNG) credits and low-carbon biofuel production in the North West and beyond.

Having worked in partnership since 2019, Gresham House and GMPF’s original North West Fund co-investment has already been successfully committed and helped to create over 215 highly-skilled new jobs in the region, as well as supporting more than 1,650 new careers throughout the UK.

CMPF chairman Cllr Ged Cooney said: "We are committed to creating a positive social and environmental impact for communities in the North West.

"Building on our previous successful investments with the Gresham House team, this £100m commitment will give us greater access to attractive and meaningful, local investment opportunities, from connecting thousands of homes to full-fibre broadband to producing low-carbon biofuels from used cooking oil.

"The scale of infrastructure investment required presents compelling opportunities to help develop the critical assets that will improve lives and deliver lasting local economic and environmental benefits."

Peter Bachmann, managing director of sustainable infrastructure at Gresham House, added: "The LGPS sector has a proud history of seeking out investment opportunities that deliver positive environmental and social impact without sacrificing the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.

"We’re very grateful to GMPF and our other LPs whose backing enables us to direct capital into the areas where real asset-based solutions can have the biggest impact.

"We look forward to creating even greater benefits for GMPF’s members and communities in the North West and beyond."

As well as GMPF, the strategy is backed by six other local authority pension funds including East Riding, Greater Gwent (Torfaen), Teesside, West Midlands and Worcestershire.

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