Cambridge University and colleges. Source iStock
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has exchanged on the forward funding of 139 single-family rental homes at Springstead Village in Cambridge.
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool said the transaction, advised by Aberdeen Investments, will see more than £70m invested into the construction of 93 houses and 46 apartments in the development.
The investment comes from the pool's UK real estate fund, into which ten of Border to Coast's Partner Funds have committed £2bn since October 2024.
The deal marks Border to Coast's first investment into single-family housing, a focus of its UK real estate fund.
The homes are situated within Springstead Village, a joint venture between Bellway and Latimer, and will benefit from a community primary and secondary school community hub, green spaces and allotments as part of the wider development masterplan. All the homes will be operationally efficient with attractive ESG characteristics, each home having a minimum EPC B rating, placing the building in the top tier of energy efficiency and minimising costs to tenants.
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership chief investment officer Joe McDonnell said: "This is a landmark deal for our partnership. The UK faces a significant shortfall in quality homes to rent and our first investment in single-family housing at Springstead Village will help meet this demand, aligning social and economic value with long-term returns for Partner Funds in a UK growth sector.
"The investment is a clear demonstration of the power of LGPS pooling to unlock access to strong investment opportunities across the UK. Our UK Real Estate Fund, the largest of its kind in the LGPS, seeks to direct long-term capital into the UK, delivering stronger returns that support the efficient payment of pensions for millions of local government workers."
Aberdeen Investments deputy fund manager Iain Leheny added: "A lot of the UK's housing stock is aging and hasn't adapted to how people live today, with the country facing a shortage of good quality, modern housing, while home ownership is also increasingly out of reach for many.
"The private rental market is a vital part of the housing ecosystem and build to rent accounts for just 2% of stock - well behind our international peers.
"Springstead Village is the perfect example of the housing stock we want to invest in, combining high quality homes with growing local infrastructure. A lot of care has been taken in the design to make it feel like the kind of place tenants want to move to, with easy access to Cambridge's tech and life sciences hub, bringing high convenience for busy families."
