Brunel invests in impact fund, EAPF commits to venture capital

LGPS pool makes cornerstone impact fund investment

The £38bn Brunel Pension Partnership has contributed to the first close of the Orchard Street Social and Environmental Impact Partnership, an impact fund run by Orchard Street Investment Management that focuses on decarbonisation, community engagement and wellness.

Brunel Pension Partnership, acting as the cornerstone investor on behalf of eight of its 10 partner Local Government Pension Scheme funds, has committed an undisclosed sum to the just under £90mn first close of Orchard Street's inaugural impact fund.

The capital also includes co-investment committed by Orchard Street’s partners and members of Orchard Street’s senior team. The fund has a target equity commitment of £400mn and has been approved by investment consultant the Townsend Group.

The fund will target value-add real estate investment opportunities with the potential to generate a measurable social and environmental impact, it stated.

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com

Environment Agency Pension Fund invests in climate tech

The £4.8bn Environment Agency Pension Fund has invested an undislcosed sum in the World Fund, a European-focused climate venture capital fund, as it builds towards its net zero for 2045 target.

The pension fund has joined more than 200 other investors, including PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ecosia, the environmental search engine, in backing the impact fund.

Founded in 2021, the World Fund is looking to raise €350mn (£300.9mn) to invest in European start-ups that have the potential to save at least 100 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually.

EAPF chief investment officer Graham Cook said: “We’re dealing with a climate emergency, and we need innovative, science-based solutions if we’re going to make a difference.

“We were really impressed with World Fund’s evidence-led and scientific approach to finding the new generation of climate tech start-ups that will have the biggest impact in the next decade. We’re excited to work with them and deliver both positive financial and climate results for our members.”

In 2021, the scheme agreed to its portfolio having net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and set a self-imposed deadline for 2045 by signing up to the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative.

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com

Greater Manchester Pension Fund doubles impact fund investment

The circa £28.2bn Greater Manchester Pension Fund has injected another £10mn into investment company Resonance’s National Homelessness Property Fund 2. The pension fund initially made a £10mn seed investment into NHPF2 at its launch in December 2020.

The additional £10mn the pension scheme has now invested is enabling NHPF2 to purchase more homes in the Greater Manchester region for people facing a housing crisis, including those experiencing rough sleeping in the region. The total raised so far by NHPF2 is £65mn.

The impact fund initially prioritised property assets in the Greater Manchester region, however, it is now expanding into other regions across the UK, including Bristol, Oxford and Liverpool City Region, delivering nationally diversified returns alongside locally focused investment. 

With ambitions to expand even further across the UK, the fund aims to raise £300mn from institutional impact investors such as pension funds and local authorities. This will enable it to acquire around 1,500 homes and to house around 7,500 people over its 15-year lifetime.

This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com