Foresight Group has agreed to acquire the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP), which owns 17 assets in the UK including renewables, energy from waste and transport worth about £700m.
The transaction, which follows a competitive process run by the PIP Board, is expected to complete in about a month.
PIP was founded in 2013 under the leadership of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and is backed by major UK pension schemes – British Airways, Pension Protection Fund, Railpen and local government pension schemes Strathclyde and West Midlands.
It provides investment expertise and asset management to pension funds investing in UK infrastructure.
Upon completion, PIP chief executive Paula Burgess will become a partner of Foresight and the whole PIP team will join Foresight’s infrastructure unit.
Within Foresight they will manage PIP’s assets.
Foresight partner and head of infrastructure Nigel Aitchison (pictured) said: “The skills of the PiP team will further strengthen the depth and breadth of our specialist infrastructure presence and Foresight’s position as a leading infrastructure manager. We look forward to welcoming the PiP team to the group.”
Burgess said: “This combination means the PiP team can continue to work with UK pension funds, while bringing additional skills and resources to bear and attracting more investment as part of a larger platform.
“We are excited to be joining the Foresight team.”