Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) has launched a new UK healthcare investment joint venture with BlackRock, targeting an initial £1 billion portfolio of NHS-leased real estate assets.
Greater Manchester Pension Fund will make an initial cornerstone investment of £150 million. The pension fund has assets exceeding £30 billion and a membership of over 430,000.
The partnership aims to unlock private investment into healthcare real estate.
The JV will seek to mobilise third-party capital to invest in acquiring, upgrading, expanding and developing primary healthcare centres providing frontline general practitioner (GP) and NHS services in local communities.
It has launched with a seed portfolio of 65 modern, purpose-built primary care assets spread across England, Scotland and Wales, and is initially targeting up to a £1 billion portfolio of healthcare facilities by the end of 2030.
Eleanor Wills, chair of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, said: “Greater Manchester Pension Fund is a long-term investor, committed to deploying capital in ways that secure income to pay our members’ pensions and support essential UK infrastructure.
“Primary care is a vital part of our communities, yet much of the estate is ageing and no longer fit for the needs of modern healthcare delivery.
“This partnership allows us to back high-quality, purpose-built facilities that directly align with the NHS Long Term Plan, improve patient experience, and provide stable, inflation-linked returns over decades with strong potential for growth. We are proud to invest in assets that strengthen public services while safeguarding the financial future of our members.”
John Benham, head of UK open-ended funds at BlackRock, added:“For more than two decades, BlackRock has been a major investor in primary care assets on the frontline of healthcare provision in the UK on behalf of our clients.
“Today, we are incredibly excited to enter the next chapter as we partner with GMPF to accelerate the availability of private capital for these essential assets.
“Together with GMPF, we are bringing our deep knowledge of unique public-private sector dynamics to unlock one of the largest private markets opportunities for capital to invest in the social infrastructure underpinning UK primary care.”
Lord Stockwood, UK minister for investment, said: “The UK is a thriving business hub. With this new joint venture, Greater Manchester Pension Fund’s £150m cornerstone investment into our country’s healthcare real estate will help boost provision and accessibility for hundreds of thousands of patients in local communities.
“With financial services identified as a key sector in our modern industrial strategy, we’re encouraging greater investment from UK pension schemes into critical infrastructure projects at the heart of our communities.”