UK: Legal & General Retirement Institutional (LGRI) has announced plans to invest £2.5 billion of retirement funds into BTR schemes over the next five years.
In 2021, LGRI invested more than £500 million into the sector, developing four BTR schemes in Stratford, Hove, Southampton and Lewisham. In total, these schemes include more than 1,300 new homes. Residents are due to move into the Hove and Southampton schemes in 2024.
Now it plans to create an additional 7,000 units. Dan Batterton, head of BTR at Legal & General Investment Management Real Assets, said: “Following successful investments in 2021 and our long-term track record in the development and operation of Build to Rent schemes, we are delighted that LGR’s commitment to expand its investment allows us to grow our mission and have a greater impact on the supply of high quality rental housing in the UK. Within five years, the Legal & General Group will have committed a total of at least £5 billion to the sector, providing 15,000 purpose built Build to Rent homes.”
Legal & General’s BTR platform directly develops and works alongside third parties “to create best-in-class schemes, which help to tackle the UK’s housing crisis by using pension funds to deliver thousands of new homes”. The housing provision is part of Legal & General’s plans to regenerate derelict, unused sites in the UK’s towns and cities to deliver economically and socially useful assets. Through these investments which are spread across the UK, the company further demonstrates the principle of ‘Inclusive Capitalism’ which supports the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda.
“Through investing pension funds into Build to Rent schemes, we can invest into developments that contribute to the regeneration of cities all around the country and support the UK economy. Today’s announcement showcases our commitment to creating thousands of high-quality, sustainable homes for communities that need them most. This is Inclusive Capitalism at its best – by investing in the real economy, generating returns to pay pensions and create a better society for us all,” said Andrew Kail, CEO of Legal & General Retirement Institutional
All Legal & General’s Build to Rent units are targeting net zero carbon in operation by 2030.
Legal & General also published a report in 2020 which highlights how DB pension money can be used to plug the UK’s £1tn infrastructure gap over this decade. The report goes on to state that by investing DB pension funds, it can create a virtuous circle of older UK savers funding infrastructure assets that provide a public service, increase the productivity of the wider economy and generate the right level of returns for pension members.
