Pension fund invests £100m in venture providing affordable housing across NW

New homes

Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) has invested £100m into an investment fund developed and managed by Legal and General (L&G) to deliver affordable homes across North West England.

This new regional vehicle is a structured extension to L&G’s flagship Affordable Housing Fund, launched in July 2024, to develop high quality, sustainable affordable housing nationally.

It is tailored specifically for the Northern LGP (Local Government Pension Scheme), of which GMPF is a member, to allow them to deploy capital into affordable housing development specifically in the North West.

There are 1.3 million people on local authority waiting lists for social housing, with 207,000 within the North West alone. The fund will build affordable homes across the region and make a meaningful impact in addressing housing supply.

GMPF is the largest LGPS fund and the 11th biggest defined benefit pension fund in the UK.

It looks after more than 375,000 pensions, paying in excess of £750m of benefits each year.

These benefits are enjoyed by people who work for the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester and other organisations such as the National Probation Service, academy schools and housing associations.

Institutional investment from long term pension capital is playing an increasingly important role in unlocking more homes across the UK, with the sector offering secure inflation-linked returns alongside positive social impact within local communities.

This Fund continues to build on L&G’s strategy of attracting third party capital into private market investments that can deliver social and economic benefits, and responds to the Government’s desire to work with the private sector to increase the availability of affordable homes across the country.
The Fund has a strong identified pipeline of new homes which will be developed and operated by Legal & General Affordable Homes (LGAH).

With £1bn invested in affordable housing and more than 8,000 homes in operation or development to date, LGAH has an established, sector-leading strong track record in developing and operating affordable housing.

Cllr Eleanor Wills, Chair of GMPF, said: ”We are acutely aware of the severe housing crisis both nationally and in the North West region.

“With record numbers of homeless children placed in temporary accommodation, the ever-growing waiting lists for social housing, and the younger generation being priced out of home ownership, this is why we are proud to continue our long standing partnership with Legal & General to launch a specific vehicle for Northern LGPS that supports the Government’s plan to provide much needed affordable homes for hard working families while ensuring strong, low-risk returns to secure the pensions of our members.”

Ali Farrell, Fund Manager, Legal & General, said: “This fund is the culmination of a long partnership with GMPF and reflects L&G’s commitment to delivering more affordable housing where it is most needed.

“This is a great example of partnership working between the public and private sectors to increase investment into the affordable housing sector, and increase the choice, quality and availability of affordable housing across North West England.”

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