The London CIV has announced that it will work with the British Business Bank on the launch of the British Growth Partnership with a view to becoming the first local authority pool to back the initiative.
The British Growth Partnership was announced earlier this year as a vehicle set up specifically to channel pension scheme money into venture capital and early-stage company investment opportunities.
“This is a highly positive step as part of our comprehensive process to deliver sound private equity solutions for London CIV partner funds.”
Andrien Meyers, London CIV
Defined contribution master trusts Aegon and NatWest Cushon are already involved in the project.
Andrien Meyers, chief commercial officer at London CIV, said many of the pool’s 32 partner funds had been lobbying for private equity options “for some time”.
“London CIV’s goal continues to be developing investment solutions that reflect the evolving needs of our partner funds, particularly in areas such as private equity where demand continues to grow,” Meyers said.
“This is a highly positive step as part of our comprehensive process to deliver sound private equity solutions for London CIV partner funds.”
The initial fund from the British Growth Partnership will seek to raise “hundreds of millions of pounds”, the British Business Bank said in a statement, to invest in “some of the highest potential opportunities in the bank’s venture capital pipeline”.
In recent weeks, the British Business Bank received regulatory approval for BBB Investment Services, its third-party arm, which was a key step towards making the British Growth Partnership ready for the market.
Ian Connatty, managing partner at BBB Investment Services, said: “By unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds of domestic investment for the UK’s high-growth businesses through the creation of the British Growth Partnership, the UK can capture the full commercial potential of its world-class breakthrough technology companies while providing a legacy for future generations of pensioners.”
