Border to Coast pension partnership in the UK

Hollis was appointed as part of a multidisciplinary advisory team supporting Border to Coast Pension Partnership as it pooled and transitioned assets into its UK Real Estate Fund, which has grown to £2bn in assets under management in under a year.

The instruction covered two mixed-use portfolios comprising industrial, retail, and hotel assets. Our role was to help the client clearly understand what they were acquiring, the risks associated with each asset, and how those risks should be viewed in context, so they could be accurately modelled and managed as part of a growing institutional fund.

Hollis delivered a coordinated programme of technical due diligence, including fabric and M&E assessments, alongside measured surveys and area referencing. Accurate and consistent building data was fundamental to the process, supporting valuation, risk assessment and future asset management planning while reducing the potential for surprises post-acquisition.

A key part of the brief was managing a bespoke transition process as assets were pooled into the fund. By working closely with Border to Coast, its investment advisers and the wider professional team, we helped ensure that technical risks were identified early, prioritised appropriately and clearly communicated. This enabled informed investment decisions to be made at pace, without compromising governance or confidence.

Our integrated approach brought together engineers, surveyors and due diligence specialists, reducing duplication, improving consistency across reporting and providing a clear line of sight from building condition and compliance through to capital expenditure planning and operational performance.

With ten LGPS Partner Funds now invested, the proposition enables broader access to high quality UK real estate, backed by a collaborative team including Aberdeen, Knight Frank, Workman, Burges Salmon, Ramboll and Hollis.

Our work helped ensure assets were future ready, risk assessed, and aligned with long term investment goals.

The outcome was a set of clear, robust and decision-focused technical insights that supported Border to Coast’s ambition to scale the fund efficiently and responsibly. By setting risk in context and underpinning decisions with reliable data, Hollis helped turn complexity into clarity, enabling the fund to grow with confidence, resilience and long-term value in mind.