Council pension fund earns two national awards

The Lancashire County Pension Fund's investment strategy has won a national pensions award, named Pension Fund of the Year at the LAPF Investments Awards as judged by a panel of industry experts.

The LAPF Investments Awards recognise the best in the UK Public Sector market and have been running for ten years.

The Lancashire County Pension Fund is administered by Lancashire County Council, on behalf of a wide range of public sector organisations including the county council, district councils and non-uniformed members of the fire and police services.

"We're proud of the work done by the pension fund team, especially on investments, and it's pleasing to be well-recognised within our sector. Unlike the traditional consultant-led model of local government pension schemes, Lancashire has an in-house team with high-quality investment capability.

"This fund also has a target to invest 12.5% of the fund into infrastructure, including a significant amount in Lancashire itself. This will help to support regeneration and economic development, including locally."

The pension fund's varied investments include a residential block on the M4 corridor, a hotel in Stratford, East London. It also recently acquired the new Premier Inn hotel and restaurant in Blackburn.

The fund has also started to support development schemes within its own property portfolio including the student accommodation scheme developed by Portergate Properties on Friargate in Preston.