Pensions - Articles - PIC invests £114m in University of London accommodation

 Pension Insurance Corporation has provided £114 million of funding as the sole investor in a loan which allows the University of London to redevelop the Garden Halls student accommodation in Cartwright Gardens, in Bloomsbury, in partnership with University Partnerships Programme.

 The project will deliver 1,200 rooms to the Colleges of University of London and will be run by UPP, the leading UK campus based student accommodation provider. UPP is currently in partnership with 13 universities across the UK and operates c.28,000 student rooms.

 This deal is part of PIC’s infrastructure investment strategy, under which PIC focuses on investing in long-term, secure debt investments to match long-dated liabilities in a growing portfolio.

 Delphine Deasy, Investment Manager at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “We are delighted to have been able to invest £114 million to allow the University of London, in partnership with UPP, to redevelop the Garden Halls student accommodation. In the right investment structure, student accommodation is a good investment for PIC, providing long-dated, secure cash flows to help us match our pension liabilities. With £3.7 billion of pension scheme liabilities insured by us last year and almost £2billion so far this year, we have a growing portfolio and appetite to invest in further opportunities of this nature.”