On the go: The £80.6bn Universities Superannuation Scheme has made an investment in residential housing finance via specialist lender Pluto Finance.
USS committed £75m to Pluto Finance’s sixth development lending vehicle, which is targeting a £300m capital raise this autumn. It also made “a significant minority investment” in the business in order to support its expansion plans.
Pluto Finance is a specialist lender that has financed the construction of more than 10,000 houses over the past 10 years, providing about £2bn in financing across more than 200 real estate loans.
The USS investment will enable the lender to both grow its existing strategies and fund new initiatives within commercial and residential investment lending.
Prior to the scheme’s investment, Pluto Finance had £840m of institutional capital.
Eamon Ray, senior investment director private markets group at USS Investment Management, said the new investment highlighted the scheme’s “commitment to long-term investment in the UK, particularly in critical sectors such as residential housing”.
He said: “The UK faces a chronic housing shortage and the sector requires long-term sustainable capital to meet national targets.
“We believe our partnership with a leading specialist in this sector will help bridge this gap in provision while providing our members with attractive returns to fund their pensions.”
In 2020, the scheme made a £300m commitment to affordable housing debt and told Pensions Expert’s sister title MandateWire that it was on the hunt for similar opportunities.
This article originally appeared on MandateWire.com
