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Pension Insurance Corporation plc (‘PIC’), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has agreed the £267.6 million purchase of 2 Ruskin Square in Croydon, a new 344,940 sq ft Grade A office, next to East Croydon railway station, from the Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund (‘SCREF’). The building will be let to the Government Property Agency (‘GPA’), providing PIC with secure, predicable, long-dated and index linked cashflows, which are closely aligned to serving PIC’s purpose of paying the pensions of our current and future policyholders.
The building, which is due for Category A completion in June 2023, and will be ready for service August 2024, has been specifically designed for occupation by the Home Office, which will accommodate approximately 3,000 civil servants relocating from historical locations around Croydon.
Once completed the building aims to deliver a BREEAM rating of ‘Outstanding’, having been uplifted from a previous target of ‘Excellent’, along with achieving a 15% reduction in embodied carbon during construction. It is anticipated that the building will operate on a Net Zero Carbon basis, supporting the Government’s ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Ariel view of PIC’s £267.6m investment, 2 Ruskin Square, adjacent to Croydon railway station
2 Ruskin Square represents PIC’s second purchase of a GPA Hub within the past 12 months, following the purchase at First Street, Manchester in August 2022. The site has been developed by existing funders Schroders Capital, Stanhope as development manager, and Lendlease as contractor.
James Agar, Head of Long Income at PIC, said: “Government let commercial property assets are an important, on-going area of specific focus for PIC, and we are pleased to make this long-term commitment to supporting the greening and modernisation of the UK Government’s estate.
“2 Ruskin Square is a best-in-class development and joins the First Street Hub in Manchester as part of expanding partnership with the GPA.”
Clive Anderson, GPA’s Director of Capital Projects, said: “The 2 Ruskin Square, Croydon, development is part of the Government Hubs Programme which will provide a smaller, better, and greener estate which supports the Government’s ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Rob Cosslett, Fund Manager at Schroders Capital, said: “The sale of 2 Ruskin Square is in line with SCREF’s strategy of divesting out of assets upon completion of the business plan, having successfully pre-let the office space and with development of the scheme now largely complete. We have worked closely with our development partner Stanhope to successfully deliver this best-in-class, highly sustainable building on time and under budget, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Notes to editors:
For further information please contact:
PIC
Clive Booth
+44 (0)7780 599247
[email protected]
About PIC
The purpose of PIC is to pay the pensions of its current and future policyholders. PIC provides secure retirement incomes through comprehensive risk management and excellence in asset and liability management, as well as exceptional customer service. At year end 2022, PIC had insured 302,200 pension scheme members and had £41 billion in financial investments, accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension schemes. To date, PIC has made total pension payments of £10.6 billion to its policyholders. Clients include FTSE 100 companies, multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 454345). For further information please visit www.pensioncorporation.com
About Schroders Capital
Schroders Capital provides investors with access to a broad range of private asset investment opportunities, portfolio building blocks and customised private asset strategies. Its team focuses on delivering best-in-class, risk-adjusted returns and executing investments through a combination of direct investment capabilities and broader solutions in all private market asset classes, through comingled funds and customised private asset mandates.
The team aims to achieve sustainable returns through a rigorous approach and in alignment with a culture characterised by performance, collaboration and integrity.
With $88 billion in assets under management, Schroders Capital offers a diversified range of investment strategies, including real estate, private equity, secondaries, venture capital, infrastructure, securitised products and asset-based finance, private debt, insurance-linked securities and BlueOrchard (Impact Specialists).
*Assets under management as at 30 June 2022 (including non-fee earning dry powder and in-house cross holdings)
Schroders plc
Founded in 1804, Schroders is one of Europe’s largest independent investment management firms by assets under management. As at 30 June 2022, assets under management were £773.4 billion (€898.4 billion; $939.2 billion). The founding family remain a core shareholder, holding approximately 48% of the firm’s voting shares. Schroders has continued to deliver strong financial results. It has a market capitalisation of circa £7.7 billion and employs over 5,800 people across 38 locations.
Schroders has benefited from the most diverse business model of any UK asset manager by geography, by asset class and by client type. Schroders offers innovative products and solutions across their five business areas of solutions; institutional; mutual funds; private assets & alternatives; and wealth management. Clients include insurance companies, pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations. They also manage assets for end clients as part of their relationships with distributors, financial advisers and online platforms. Schroders’ Wealth Management offering reflects their strategic ambition to provide wealth management and financial planning services to clients across the wealth spectrum.
Schroders’ strategic aims are to grow their asset management business, build closer relationships with end clients and expand their private assets and alternatives business. Schroders’ purpose is to provide excellent investment performance to clients through active management. The business channels capital into sustainable and durable businesses to accelerate positive change in the world. Schroders’ business philosophy is based on the belief that if they deliver for clients, they deliver for Shareholders and other stakeholders.
Further information about Schroders can be found at www.schroders.com.
Issued by Schroder Investment Management Limited. Registration No 1893220 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For regular updates by e-mail please register online at www.schroders.com for our alerting service.
