VC firm Future Planet Capital and pension solutions provider Mobius Life will launch the fund in Q1 of 2025 to take advantage of UK pension reform.
UK venture capital firm Future Planet Capital has partnered with pensions investment company Mobius Life to start a fund that will channel UK pension money into the country’s university spinouts and government research centres.
The British Co-investment Fund intends to launch with £150m ($197m) of capital in the first quarter of next year. The fund is a direct response to UK government efforts to unlock pension capital to invest in the country’s private markets.
The UK government announced pension reform, called the Mansion House Compact, a year ago to increase investment in UK businesses. It projects the reform could unlock £75bn from defined contribution and local government pensions.
The UK has the largest pension market in Europe, worth more than £2.5 trillion. But only a small portion of this money is invested in private markets. Comparable Australian schemes invest 10 times more in private markets than UK pension schemes do.
The British Co-investment Fund, which will be managed by Future Planet Capital, will offer Mobius Life’s pension trustees, advisers and asset managers access to venture capital investments through a so-called blended feeder fund structure. This will include VC investment alongside liquid listed assets to enable pension managers to meet fee and liquidity requirements. Mobius Life has 700 UK pension clients and £26bn in assets.
Up to £50m of the fund’s capital will come from existing Future Planet Capital clients. Corporate venture capital investors and sovereign wealth funds will also be able to join.
Future Planet Capital invests in global spinouts and research centres. The impact-led venture capital firm has $400m in assets under management and has 140 portfolio companies across geographies and stages.
Disclaimer: GCV is a minority shareholder in Future Planet Capital
