The Department of Finance has appointed CBRE Capital Advisors to manage a new £100m Investment Fund
Welcoming the appointment of CBRE, Permanent Secretary Hugh Widdis said: “This Fund, agreed by the previous Executive, will focus investment in the areas of regeneration, office and low carbon projects to deliver economic growth. It will play a significant role in supporting private sector investment in key areas of local development over the next decade.”
CBRE has been appointed to manage the Fund for 15 years. They will lever in private finance and reinvest the £100 million over this period to deliver significant benefits for Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the appointment, Andrew Antoniades, Head of Debt Investment Advisory, CBRE said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as fund manager for this new, forward thinking Fund. It is great to see key regional markets taking charge of development. By instigating capital projects, Northern Ireland will be able to deliver wider socio-economic benefits as well as generating income that can be recycled back into the fund. We are already in discussion with a number of developers to build a successful pipeline.”
The main areas targeted for investment through this initiative are mixed use site development; offices; industrial, warehousing and distribution facilities; research and development facilities; site remediation and access; other physical development that supports economic growth; energy efficiency, energy storage; and energy generation from solar, wind, hydro and waste to energy projects.
CBRE will be overseen by a Scrutiny Board, consisting of three private sector members and two public sector members.
Notes to editors:
1. The previous Executive agreed, as part of its 2016-17 Budget, to allocate £100 million of Financial Transactions Capital to a new Investment Fund. The £100 million will be provided to CBRE in three tranches, with the initial £40 million tranche of funding expected to be disbursed in January 2018. Further tranches will then depend on CBRE meeting certain commitment and disbursement targets.
2. It is expected that the £100 million is recycled by CBRE to deliver more than one investment cycle over the life of the Fund. Furthermore, CBRE is also obliged to deliver at least an equivalent level of private sector leverage. One investment cycle alone, therefore, will support at least £200 million of investment in the local economy.
3. CBRE will be overseen by a Scrutiny Board, consisting of three private sector members and two public sector members. All the Scrutiny Board members have been selected and appointed by Forde May consulting. The Chair of the Scrutiny Board is Stephen Kirkpatrick, who has significant senior banking experience with Bank of Ireland and has held a number of other non-Executive Board positions.
4. For more information on CBRE visit - www.cbre.co.uk
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