Northern Trust will be the administrator and depositary for the £43bn (€48.3bn) Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, one of eight Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) asset pools.

Border to Coast annouced the contract today following a “robust and in-depth public procurement process”.

It added that the two companies would work to establish an operating model for the pool. Border to Coast was set up to facilitate the pooling of pension scheme assets for the counties of Bedfordshire, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Warwickshire.

Fiona Miller, chief operating officer of Border to Coast, said: “I am excited to start the next stage of the journey for Border to Coast, working alongside Northern Trust as we build out the infrastructure which will support our organisation both now and into the future.

“Through their long-term partnership with the LGPS and extensive expertise in [authorised contractual scheme] structures, Northern Trust’s understanding of our needs and the culture we want to build make them a natural partner for Border to Coast.”

Northern Trust already provides depositary services to Northern Ireland’s LGPS fund and the London CIV, the pooling vehicle for the capital’s 32 borough pension funds.

James Wright, head of the company’s institutional investor group for the UK and Middle East, added: “We are committed and excited to support Border to Coast through its establishment and ongoing growth.

“Our tax transparent fund experience, alongside our dedicated UK pension team and proven technology ensures we are well placed to support Border to Coast’s unique requirements.”

Chris Hitchen, chair of Border to Coast’s board, said the pool was building “an excellent team” and “a highly capable investing institution”.

All eight LGPS pools are expected to be ready to manage assets from the start of April this year, in line with central government’s plans.

Brunel publishes first report and accounts

The Brunel Pension Partnership drew down more than £5m from its 10 LGPS shareholders in December to help it meet the April deadline, according to its first full annual report and accounts.

In the 12 months to the end of September 2017, the pension funds contributed £3m to operating costs “to set up the office, hire the staff and submit the FCA application”.

Coupled with December’s payment of a combined £5.4m, each of the founding funds has paid roughly £840,000 towards Brunel’s establishment.

The pool said it aimed to make fee savings of £27.8m by 2025 through the pooling of assets and management of costs.

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