Seven Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds have entered exclusive discussions to join the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership – potentially boosting the pool’s assets to close to £110bn.
The seven funds – all currently members of the ACCESS pool – are Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Northamptonshire and West Sussex.
Border to Coast says its partner funds have around £65.3bn of investments as at 31 March 2025, of which it manages or oversees £55.4bn.
The seven funds that intend to join currently have around £45bn. If the moves are approved, the combined platform would be close to £110bn, making it by far the largest LGPS pool.
Border to Coast is based in Leeds and is currently owned by 11 partner funds. Together they represent around 3,000 employers and more than 1.1 million members.
Speaking on behalf of the seven authorities, Councillor Jeremy Hunt of the West Sussex Pension Fund said: “In response to the government’s ‘Fit for the Future’ policy, each authority has undertaken a comprehensive review to determine [its] most suitable future pooling partnership.
“Following this robust evaluation, seven funds have chosen to enter exclusive discussions with Border to Coast Pensions Partnership as their preferred future pooling partner.”
Border to Coast’s chair and chief executive both welcomed the move, highlighting governance, collaboration and a focus on cost-effective outcomes for partner funds.
ACCESS partner funds will disband, pool acknowledges
The LGPS funds in the ACCESS and Brunel pools have until 30 September to decide on a new partner after the government’s decision to move from eight pools to six. Read the full story
Clarity emerges for ‘orphaned’ funds
The announcement clarifies the direction of travel for a large number of ACCESS’s clients and a significant proportion of its assets, after the government told it and the Brunel Pension Partnership to disband earlier this year.
The changes form part of the government’s “megafunds” plan for the LGPS, to reduce pools from eight to six and give them additional responsibilities, including for strategic advice.
The focus is now shifting to execution. Administering authorities will need to complete governance, procurement and assurance steps before any assets move from ACCESS to Border to Coast.
Each of the seven funds’ committees will look at how existing mandates map to Border to Coast’s offerings, as well as the sequencing of transitions and any controls necessary to minimise frictional costs and performance drift during transfer.
With several authorities moving at once, clarity on decision rights, reporting lines and service standards will be essential to protect day-to-day delivery and outcomes for members.
Border to Coast’s potential new joiners
The seven funds set to join Border to Coast are at varying stages of their pooling journeys. For most, the assets still held outside any pooling arrangement are private markets mandates such as private equity, private debt, infrastructure, and real estate.
Essex Pension Fund is the seventh largest LGPS fund in the UK, according to data collated by PensionsPerformance.com, with £11.5bn in assets under management as of 31 March 2025. Of this amount, 87% has been pooled with ACCESS, approximately £10bn.
| Fund | AUM | % pooled assets |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | £4.9bn | 81% |
| East Sussex | £5bn | 59% |
| Essex | £11.5bn | 87% |
| Hertfordshire* | £6.2bn | 61% |
| Kent* | £8.1bn | 46% |
| Northamptonshire* | £3.6bn | 81% |
| West Sussex* | £5.8bn | 80% |
Source: PensionsPerformance.com
‘Pooled assets’ refers to assets currently overseen by the ACCESS pool.
* Data as of 31 March 2024. Cambridgeshire, East Sussex and Essex as of 31 March 2025.
A challenging timeline
The government launched the Fit for the Future consultation in November 2024, and pools submitted transition plans in February 2025. In April 2025, Brunel and ACCESS funds were asked to find a new pool.
By the end of September 2025, the 21 affected LGPS funds are to have in-principle agreements on a new pool, with formal joining targeted for April 2026.
Wiltshire – currently part of the Brunel Pension Partnership – became the first to announce its intention when it selected LGPS Central last month. This switch is subject to approval from the other LGPS Central members.
ACCESS acknowledged on 1 August that its 11 partner funds were “progressing towards key decisions” and that they are unlikely to select the same pooling partner. As those decisions conclude, the seven authorities and Border to Coast will move through governance approvals and transition planning ahead of any asset transfers.
Who is left?
Eight of the 21 ’orphaned’ funds have now provisionally selected their new pooling partner, leaving 13 still to do so.
These include the four remaining ACCESS client funds – Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Hampshire, and Norfolk – which have more than £20bn in assets between them. Hampshire dominates this total with £10.2bn.
The nine members of Brunel Pension Partnership that are yet to pick a new pool are Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, the Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Somerset.
Brunel recently announced that board member Patrick Newberry is to take over as chair of the pool to guide it through the next stage of pooling. He replaces Sally Bridgeland, who took on the role last year prior to the government’s ‘Fit for the future’ consultation.
