Foresight has acquired fellow investment company Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP), in a move that broadens the group's infrastructure platform.
Together, the group will have £6.5 billion of assets under management, including more than 250 renewable generation assets globally, giving it a total generating capacity of 2.5GW. This includes numerous solar power plants, with Foresight’s Solar Fund having seen a strong period of growth.
PiP, which is backed by numerous major pension schemes in the UK, currently has 17 assets under operation across a number of infrastructure areas. These including an agreement the company reached with Trina Solar to acquire a portfolio of six UK solar sites in 2017.
The leadership team will now transfer to Foresight over the course of the summer, with PiP CEO, Paula Burgess, to become a Foresight partner.
Burgress 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.”
The five other founders of PiP will remain LPs, and the whole team will join Foresight’s infrastructure team, including CIO Ed Wilson and head of asset management Andy Clapp.
The acquisition will allow Foresight to broaden its investment scope, and develop its environmental and sustainable investment capability while growing its assets under management by 38%, or £1.8 billion.
Nigel Aitchison, partner and head of infrastructure at Foresight, 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.”
The acquisition comes almost a year after Foresight’s acquisition of the JLEN Environmental Assets Group, which saw its 14 strong team join Foresight and increased its renewables assets to 2.5GW.