GLIL Infrastructure secures £475m in new member commitments to drive greater investment in UK infrastructure

13 May 2024

• Latest fundraising, which came from GLIL’s entire membership, takes the investment fund’s total committed capital to £4.1bn.

• GLIL has already deployed more than £3bn across core infrastructure assets spanning renewable energy transport and services.

GLIL Infrastructure (“GLIL”) – the infrastructure investment vehicle backed by Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and DC funds – has raised an additional £475m from its members for further investment in core UK infrastructure assets.

The new capital commitments came from across all of GLIL’s LGPS fund members, including Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire pension funds, known collectively as Northern LGPS, Lancashire County Pension Fund, Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund and the London Pensions Fund Authority, which form Local Pensions Partnership Investments, and defined contribution workplace pension provider Nest.

It takes the open-ended investment fund’s total committed capital to £4.1bn, of which more than £3bn has already been deployed into a diverse infrastructure portfolio that includes renewable energy production and energy transition infrastructure, as well as transport, water, ports, schools and hospitals. GLIL’s latest investments include acquiring a minority stake in Cornerstone, the UK’s largest mobile towers business and, most recently, signing a strategic partnership with Bluefield Solar Income Fund beginning with the acquisition of Lyceum, a 247MW portfolio of operational solar energy assets. The latest member commitments mean the fund will build on its strong track record of investing in UK infrastructure to create more jobs, and drive the move to a net zero economy by continuing to contribute to the energy transition .

Ted Frith, Chief Operating Officer at GLIL Infrastructure, said: “This latest endorsement from members, of what GLIL has achieved to date, reflects their commitment to UK infrastructure as an asset class. Pension funds play an increasingly important role in driving more investment into infrastructure assets, and our recent survey shows that nearly two-thirds of UK pension fund leaders expect to increase their investment in this area over the next year.

“As well as offering reliable, inflation-linked returns, infrastructure investment is critical to the UK’s energy transition, supporting local communities and powering the economy. With the help of our LGPS members and Nest, we will be able to capitalise on a strong pipeline of new investment opportunities that provide reliable returns for many years to come.” Stephen O'Neill, Head of Private Markets at Nest, added: “At Nest, we’re delighted to be expanding our investments in UK infrastructure. We see fantastic opportunities to put our members’ money to work in projects right here on their doorstop, while helping grow their pension over the years to come. It’s a win-win situation. “Our partnership with GLIL is one of many we’ve set up to invest in the UK. A third of the UK workforce has a pension with Nest and where we can, we want to help invest in their jobs, their communities, and the infrastructure they use.”