English Cities Fund (ECF) Receives Additional Equity, Doubling Investment to £400m
English Cities Fund (ECF) Doubles Investment Size to £400m with Additional Equity Injection
ECF, a development company partnership established in 2001 to invest in cities and towns in England, is set to double its size to £400m with an additional equity injection from its partners Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse Developments.
The partnership, formerly known as the English Cities Fund, has received an extra £100m of equity from its partners, matched by an additional £100m of debt, bringing its total capacity to £400m. This expansion comes after ECF doubled its investment in cities and towns in England to £200m in 2018.
With this new capital injection, ECF aims to deliver over 1m sqft of commercial space to support education, 17,000 new homes, and additional social infrastructure to promote health and wellbeing by 2036. Since its inception, ECF has completed five mixed-use regeneration projects across England and delivered 2,150 homes in new neighborhoods, along with 1,150,000 sqft of office, retail, and leisure space.
Michael Lyons, chair of ECF, highlighted the impact the partnership has had on cities like Salford, Liverpool, London, and Plymouth, emphasizing the creation of homes, jobs, workspaces, and new public realms. He stressed ECF’s long-term view, sustainable change approach, and collaboration with local partners to share risks and rewards.
Peter Denton, CEO of Homes England, praised ECF’s track record of delivering transformative places in areas that need it the most, while Laura Mason, CEO of Legal & General Capital, emphasized the positive impact and strong returns that ECF continues to deliver.
Bill Hughes, global head of LGIM Real Assets, commended ECF as a prime example of collaboration between the public sector, institutional investors, and sector experts to deliver essential social infrastructure. Phil Mayall, managing director at Muse, highlighted ECF’s success in delivering complex and sustainable regeneration projects over the past two decades.
The expansion of ECF signifies a new chapter in the partnership’s journey, with a focus on creating vibrant new places, jobs, homes, and opportunities across the country. The injection of additional capital will enable ECF to further its impact on communities and drive positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes.