Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI) is looking to hire 18 new staff, prioritising applicants from Brunel Pension Partnership as it continues partner fund onboarding.
The move comes as LPPI looks to establish a new office in Bristol, where Brunel is currently located, as it continues to progress towards growing to nine partner funds, after Devon, Avon, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall, and the Environment Agency Pension Fund signed a memorandum of understanding in November.
The new entrants join Lancashire County Pension Fund, the London Pensions Fund Authority and the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund.
LPPI currently manages £26.5bn (€30.5bn) across six pension funds and two pooled authorised contractual schemes on a fully delegated basis for Greater London, Lancashire and the Royal County of Berkshire.
The new office location is still in the “process of being agreed”, LPPI said, adding that it will complement its existing sites in London and Preston, and ensure the pool continues to have a local presence in each of its partner funds’ regions.
As it scales, LPPI said it will hire 18 new staff, opening the roles to team members from Brunel in the first instance.
It said that the move and hiring are the latest decision in LPPI’s ongoing work with all nine partner funds to ensure a smooth and efficient onboarding as equal shareholders as part of the government’s Fit for the Future process.
LPPI added that it is on track to complete formal onboarding by the government’s deadline of 31 March 2026, which will bring the pool’s total AUM to more than £56bn.
Last year, LPPI emerged as the leading contender to take on Brunel Pension Partnership’s investment infrastructure, a former home to six of the new funds.
Brunel, which employs 75 people, manages seven equity pooled funds, passive equity and private markets for 10 pension fund clients based in the West of England.
Chris Rule, chief executive officer of LPPI, said: “We’re making excellent progress in the onboarding process thanks to genuine collaboration across all nine partner funds.
“Although we already have the capabilities and structure to deliver on the requirements of Fit for the Future, we need to scale to reflect our greater size.”
He added: “As we do this, we want to maintain a local presence for our partner funds, and do what we can to retain vital skills and experience within the LGPS. That’s why we’re opening a Bristol office and opening these new roles to Brunel colleagues first.”
