UK Pension Funds Commit £50bn to Boost Startups and Infrastructure

The Mansion House Accord, which will be signed by 17 workplace pension providers managing around 90% of active savers’ pensions, was announced in 2023 under the previous Conservative government.

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The signatories, including Aviva, Legal & General, and M&G, plan to invest 10% of their workplace portfolios in assets that help grow the economy, such as infrastructure, property, and private equity, including venture capital (VC), over the next five years. At least 5% of these investments will be directed towards UK-based startups and projects.

“I welcome this bold step by some of our biggest pension funds, which will unlock billions for major infrastructure, clean energy, and exciting startups — delivering growth, boosting pension pots, and giving working people greater security in retirement,” said UK finance minister Rachel Reeves.

Tech leaders praised the plans last November when Reeves outlined strategies to increase pension fund investments in the UK.

“Pension fund reforms are one of the biggest growth levers the Treasury can pull,” Dom Hallas, executive director of lobby group Startup Coalition, said at the time.

“Once it’s delivered we should see billions more into the British venture-backed tech ecosystem — which is not only good for founders, it’s good for the pensions of British workers too.”

The UK has been working hard to improve its economy after a slow start to 2025, worsened by the global trade war caused by US President Donald Trump, which has disrupted public markets.

The £50bn announced today is lower than the £80bn the government mentioned in November. Sifted has reached out to the Treasury for comment on this.

The British Business Bank, the UK’s state-backed economic development bank, has gained regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to offer UK pension funds and other institutional investors access to its UK VC opportunities.