London CIV has become the first Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool to announce its intention to work with the British Business Bank on the launch of the British Growth Partnership.

The news was announced as part of the government’s Pensions Investment Review, which also confirmed that the government will take a reserve power in the Pension Schemes Bill to set binding asset allocation targets.

As part of its commitment to work with the British Business Bank on the launch of the British Growth Partnership, London CIV will look to make an investment in the initial fund when launched, subject to commercial negotiations, due diligence, and agreement from client funds.

Announcing the plans, London CIV said it was looking to add a private equity fund to its product range, highlighting this as an opportunity to support early-stage UK growth companies.

London CIV chief commercial officer, Andrien Meyers, said: “London CIV’s goal continues to be developing investment solutions that reflect the evolving needs of our partner funds, particularly in areas such as private equity where demand continues to grow.

"This is a highly-positive step as part of our comprehensive process to deliver sound private equity solutions for London CIV partner funds – many of whom have lobbied London CIV to explore and pursue for some time.”

Adding to this, British Business Bank Investment Services managing partner, Ian Connatty, said: “This announcement is an endorsement of the work the British Business Bank is doing to support pension funds and other institutional investors to access venture capital opportunities.

"We are delighted to be working with London CIV as we prepare to launch the British Growth Partnership, demonstrating our objectives and vision for investing in the UK’s high growth businesses are highly aligned.

“By unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds of domestic investment for the UK’s high growth businesses through the creation of the British Growth Partnership, the UK can capture the full commercial potential of its world class breakthrough technology companies while providing a legacy for future generations of pensioners.”

The LGPS pool joins Aegon UK and NatWest Cushon who previously agreed to work with the new British Growth Partnership with a view to making investments in the initial fund.

Announced at the International Investment Summit, the British Business Bank will establish the British Growth Partnership, encouraging more UK pension funds and other institutional investment into the UK’s most innovative companies.

The initial fund will seek to raise hundreds of millions of pounds, including a commitment from the British Business Bank, to invest in some of the highest potential opportunities in the Bank’s venture capital pipeline.

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