London Treasury Liquidity Fund (LTLF), an investment fund managed by London Treasury Limited (London Treasury) announces a £30m investment into private real estate debt, providing senior development and bridge lending across the UK with a focus on affordable housing.
The £30m lending will be placed through Pluto Finance (Pluto), a leading UK specialist real estate private debt manager. Other investors include the Universities Superannuation Scheme, also a major shareholder in Pluto, pension funds and other institutional investors from across Europe.
The commitment supports SME housebuilders across the UK who are integral to the Government’s plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes in the next five years. London and the South-East will be a focus of lending activity – a recent loan closing is to finance a housing association’s development of 91 affordable homes and one commercial unit in Dagenham.
LTLF is designed for local authorities and public sector bodies who seek a higher level of return than SONIA or an average money market fund. An investor with fluctuating cash-flows, on its own is only able to invest in short-term instruments, but with LTLF it can share the benefits of longer-term investment. The fund is currently open to new investors.
Richard Tomlinson, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at London Treasury, said:
“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to invest £30m with Pluto Finance, we expect this investment to deliver a secure risk-adjusted return in excess of the portfolio’s benchmark at the same time as supporting the construction of new housing stock. As a fund, we are at an exciting stage. Our performance since inception in April 2023 has exceeded current benchmarks, and our operations have scaled sufficiently to welcome new investors who are eager to partner with us.”
Robert Swift, Head of Investor Relations at Pluto Finance, said:
“We are delighted to be working with the team at London Treasury and are aligned with their investment aim – competitive financial returns and the delivery of much needed affordable housing across the UK. In addition to new homes, lending in London and the South-East delivers local investment and SME job creation.”
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Notes to editors:
- London Treasury is an arm’s length subsidiary of the Greater London Authority (GLA) delivering its investment, treasury, and related needs. Its flagship fund, LTLF, is an open-ended fund investing the pooled cash resources of a number of public sector bodies. London Treasury provides discretionary portfolio management to professional clients and also provides strategic advice on debt management to clients as part of the GLA’s shared treasury management service. It also provides green finance services including carbon impact analysis and project appraisal, at the heart of London’s ambition for Net Zero Carbon by 2030.
- London Treasury Liquidity Fund (LTLF) is an alternative investment fund designed with local authorities and public sector bodies in mind to provide daily liquidity while seeking returns in excess of SONIA bank rate (Sterling Overnight Index Average). With £3.3bn AUM (at 30 Sep 2024), the historic returns realised by LTLF’s investment strategy have been consistently ahead of SONIA bank rate since inception, delivered on a cost-recovery basis for the benefit of all its investors.
- Pluto Finance, established in 2011, is a leading provider of real estate finance for UK property investors and developers. Lending vehicles provide bridge, development and investment finance for property developers and investors throughout the UK and have provided over £3bn across 273 loans, financing the delivery of more than 10,000 new homes. Lending vehicles are backed by leading institutional investors, including the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
For media enquiries please contact Robert Swift, rswift@plutofinance.com or Bianca Valea-Smith, bianca@londontreasury.org.
