Schroders Greencoat has secured £170 million from the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF) into its UK private markets fund, Greencoat Renewable Income LP (GRI).
The commitment raises GRI to £1.35 billion, with a full closing due in December 2024.
GRI focuses on renewable infrastructure assets in the UK, to generate consistent, inflation-protected income over time. It diversifies its portfolio with wind, solar, and bioenergy assets, as well as investments in energy transition infrastructure such as heat pumps and green hydrogen electrolysis.
The EAPF, a part of LGPS, oversees pension benefits for nearly 39,500 members, with a 95 per cent participation rate among employees and has £3.6 billion in assets and a funding level of 106 per cent.
It has invested over £1 billion in 165 UK properties, including large solar, district heating, hydrogen infrastructure, and offshore wind developments. It is also one of the founding members of the Brunel Pension Partnership, a long-standing client of Schroders Greencoat and a significant investor in GRI and other Schroders Greencoat funds.
Schroders Greencoat portfolio manager Tatiana Zervos says: “Renewable infrastructure assets are the backbone of the energy transition and, as the largest asset manager of operational wind and solar assets in the UK, Schroders Greencoat is able to offer its clients direct access to these opportunities with long-term reliable, inflation-linked cashflows via a diversified strategy.
“Our track record means we are a trusted partner for influential investors such as the EAPF and we’re delighted to build on our relationship with Brunel which dates back to the fund’s inception in 2019.”
Environment Agency Pension Fund chief pensions officer Craig Martin says: “Driving the UK transition to a low carbon economy in partnership with Brunel, Schroders Greencoat and the GRI fund was a natural fit for EAPF. We have a long-standing target of achieving 17 per cent AUM in climate solutions by 2025. This investment will help us achieve this, and support the UK’s levelling up agenda. We look forward to working with the team and our Brunel partner investors to scale UK renewables.”
Brunel Pension Partnership head of private markets Richard Fanshawe says: “We are very pleased to have facilitated this investment for the Environment Agency Pension Fund to invest into Greencoat Renewable Income alongside its Brunel pool partners Avon, Cornwall, Dorset, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. This investment achieves multiple Impact, Levelling Up, energy transition, and return ambitions in one fell swoop for the Environment Agency, whose remit is country-wide, not county-specific.”