Border to Coast launches £1.75bn real estate manager search

The Leeds-based pension is calling for an experienced manager for its UK private real estate fund.

Institution: Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Headquarters: Leeds, UK
AUM: £38.3 billion

Border to Coast Pensions has announced that it is looking for a manager for its UK Real Estate Fund. The fund will have £1.75 billion ($2.12 billion; €2.04 billion) of capital to invest into direct real estate opportunities with. This can potentially rise to £3 billion dependent on further contributions from the partnership’s 11 pension fund relationships.

The successful applicant will be responsible for managing the £1.75 billion fund including constructing a real estate portfolio while considering BTS’ ESG policies. In terms of criteria, the pension partnership will look for a manager that:

  • Has experience managing large real estate vehicles of over $750 million.
  • Has a provable track record for returns.
  • Extensive expertise in the UK real estate market.
  • Have over £5 billion in assets under management.

Border to Coast also outlined a timeline for its manager search:

  • Mid November – the partnership will accept completed pre-qualification questionnaires and invitations to Negotiate
  • End of November – deadline for PQQ submissions
  • Q1 2023 – deadline for ITN submissions and assessment of applicants by Border to Coast, including due diligence.
  • Q2 – pension will announce the chosen manager.
  • H2 2024 – UK Real Estate Fund will launch.

Border to Coast has few known previous commitments to real estate, according to the PERE database. However, the pension has tended to be sector agnostic in its real estate investments and commits to global real estate vehicles.

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