The £20 billion Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) has committed a further £100 million into alternative asset management group Gresham House’s Sustainable Infrastructure (BSIF) strategy.
GMPF said the investment will “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, the largest fund in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), said it will gain greater exposure to innovative solutions and technologies including vertical farming, biodiversity net gain (BNG) credits, and low-carbon biofuel production in the North West of England and beyond.
It said directing investments towards these areas has the potential to deliver robust returns while accelerating the levelling up agenda to empower regional communities.
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.
Other benefits to the region include connecting more than 100,000 homes and businesses to full-fibre broadband, as well as creating thousands of hectares of new biodiversity habitats and by growing leafy greens “using up to 1,900x less carbon than imported field-grown crops.”
GMPF looks after 375,000 pensions and pays over £750 million of benefits each year.
Cllr Ged Cooney, Chair, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, 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 £100 million 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, said: “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.”