Pensions - Articles - PIC invests £74m in second Manchester social housing bond

 Pension Insurance Corporation has provided £74 million of funding as the key investor for a PFI bond which allows Manchester City Council to begin regenerating more than 1100 homes in the Brunswick area of the city. The bond has been guaranteed by Assured Guaranty (Europe) Ltd. Lloyds Bank was the bond arranger.

 The project will deliver construction and refurbishment of social homes, new parks and green spaces and play areas, as well as allowing the construction of 322 new homes for private sale.

 In September 2013, PIC announced that it was the sole investor in £72 million of bonds backed by a project agreement with Salford City Council, to fund the New Pendleton Social Housing PFI project. The c.£150 million invested in Social Housing PFI bonds in Greater Manchester, is part of a wider infrastructure investment strategy by PIC which has seen almost £2 billion invested in the asset class this year. PIC’s investment strategy focusses on long-term, secure debt investments to match long-dated liabilities in a growing portfolio.

 Allen Twyning, Investment Manager at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “Having underwritten this deal and invested £74 million, we are very pleased to have completed a second PFI bond in Greater Manchester in recent months. With more than £3 billion of pension scheme liabilities insured in the past year, PIC has seen strong inflows which we are seeking to invest in assets with long-dated, stable cash-flows.”