igloo fund acquired by Places for People

The Malings, Ouseburn

igloo Regeneration Ltd, the sustainable regeneration specialist, has announced that Places for People has acquired the assets of the igloo Regeneration Partnership Fund, managed by Aviva Investors, as well as the fund’s joint venture (JV) holdings and ongoing property interests.

Places for People will acquire, inter alia, 50 percent of the Blueprint Regeneration Partnership, a UCIS between igloo Regeneration Partnership Fund and Nottingham City Council, as well as 50 percent of BIGG Regeneration, a JV with Scottish Canals. PfP Capital will act as the investment manager with igloo Regeneration Ltd retaining its role as development manager.

The deal with Places for People marks the beginning of a second phase for the successful fund which first launched in 2001 and was described by the United Nations as “the world’s first socially responsible property fund”.

Over the past 17 years, £300 million has been invested, resulting in multiple award-winning developments across the UK including eco-friendly homes and commercial space at The Malings, Newcastle and a mix of contemporary, high quality, low energy homes at Trent Basin, Nottingham.

The partnership will help to accelerate development on a number of on-going schemes including at Nottingham Waterside, Ouseburn Valley Newcastle, Maryhill Lock Glasgow and Ironworks Leeds.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chris Jones, Managing Director at PfP Capital, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to partner with such an experienced team at igloo and further strengthen our position as a leading responsible real estate fund manager across a variety of housing tenures. Igloo shares our commitment to sustainable development and creating lasting, vibrant communities and we look forward to working with them, and the other partners, to deliver these exciting schemes.”

Peter Connolly, chief executive at igloo, said: “We have a strong pipeline of projects and now that the partnership with Places for People is in place, we can accelerate delivery and expand our operations.

“What we’ve achieved to date through working with Aviva Investors has enabled some truly transformative projects to become a reality, creating not just new homes and commercial space, but distinct, vibrant and ultimately sustainable, communities. We are now actively seeking further investment so that we can open up more opportunities for development that are for the good of people, place and planet.”

Andrew Appleyard, senior director, Aviva Investors, said: “The fund has delivered some very successful sustainable regeneration projects over the past 17 years, with the fund life ending the disposal assets to Place for People is a good outcome as the legacy can continue.”