ECF £400m Expansion to Deliver ‘Transformational Change’ in England
ECF, formerly the English Cities Fund, is doubling in size thanks to a funding boost from its partners, enabling it to grow to £400 million and continue to deliver place changing regeneration across England.
Each of the partners, Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse, who are considered three of the UK’s leading regeneration and investment organisations, have injected an additional £100 million of equity, to be matched with an additional £100 million of debt.
The government have stated that allowing the fund to grow to £400 million will enable ECF to deliver transformational change in the areas that need it most, and unlock potential in cities and towns across England.
Sir Michael Lyons, Chair of ECF, said: “ECF has had a real impact on cities such as Salford, Liverpool, London and Plymouth. We have really changed the places in which we have invested. We have provided homes, jobs, work space and new public realm. We always take a long-term view, emphasise sustainable change and work closely with local partners, sharing risks and rewards where that is possible.
With this further expansion we will be able to invest in new towns and cities and will continue to bring our unique mix of policy expertise, long term investment and development capability to support their communities.
ECF has seen widespread success since its inception
Created in 2001 with £100 million of investment, ECF brought together its partners to utilise Homes England’s ambition to deliver more affordable housing, Legal & General’s proficiency and experience in investing in transformative real estate and infrastructure, and Muse’s expertise in urban regeneration.
Over the years, the public-private partnership has collaborated with local partners to understand the needs of communities, with its first investment in Liverpool in 2001.
Since then, it has:
- Completed five mixed-use regeneration projects across England (Liverpool, London, Plymouth, Salford, and Wakefield) worth £1.2 billion
- Delivered 2,150 homes in new neighbourhoods, along with 1,150,000 sq. ft of office, retail, and leisure space, and created over 8,000 jobs
- Constructed the largest Passivhaus-certified affordable housing project in the Northwest boasting 96 affordable apartments
- Reimagined a former surface car park in Salford, now the Eden building, which is a pioneering 12-storey office building. It is set up to be net zero carbon in operation in accordance with the UK Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Framework and hosts Europe’s largest living wall
- Developed plans for an innovation district at Salford Crescent with Salford Council and the University of Salford
- Delivered new community infrastructure including a library and community centre at Rathbone Market in London and facilitated the delivery of the 1,000 pupil Plymouth Academy and 171-berth marina at Millbay.
While delivering positive social and economic outcomes, ECF’s primary focus is on place-based impact and investing in opportunities that deliver risk adjusted returns.
The expansion will enable ECF to build upon its existing portfolio of works
Through this funding increase, ECF is slated to deliver more than 1 million sq. ft of commercial space to support education, 17,000 new homes, and additional social infrastructure to support health and wellbeing by 2036.
Each of the partners emphasised the significance of this expansion, with Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, highlighting how it will: “support ECF’s strong project pipeline, continuing the work of this long-standing partnership and creating vibrant new places, jobs, homes and opportunities across the country.”
Laura Mason, Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General Capital, echoed these sentiments, adding that the unique expertise brought by each of the partners enable some of the social, environmental, and economic issues facing society to be tackled.
“With an increased appetite from other purpose-driven investors looking to access opportunities that drive returns, alongside impact, we recognise that this is an attractive partnership,” she concluded.
Phil Mayall, Managing Director at Muse, noted how the partnership is uniquely positioned to drive change and regeneration, before explaining how the expansion will enhance its abilities to do so into the future:
ECF’s expansion is testament to the team’s success over two decades, with a track record of delivery. With greater resources, we will have an even greater impact on places and communities.
“Our team will work with new and existing partners, across all the regions in which we operate, to realise this potential in a way which delivers genuine social value.”
