This initiative aims to channel institutional investment into the UK’s science and technology sector, enabling Defined Contribution (DC) pension schemes to make investments that could offer their members access to high-growth companies.

With a £100 million commitment from the LIFTS initiative, the British Business Bank is set to become a cornerstone investor in ICG’s Life Sciences strategy. This strategy is focused on investing in and supporting the growth of innovative life sciences companies. In addition to funding from the British Business Bank, the strategy has also secured a matching £100 million anchor investment from Phoenix, the UK’s premier long-term savings and retirement business. Both investments are contingent on further commercial negotiations and the approval processes of the respective organisations.

The investment strategy will be executed by ICG’s specialised Life Sciences team, which is based in London. This experienced team, which has been collaborating since 2018, boasts a rich blend of investment expertise and operational insight, underpinned by their extensive backgrounds in the pharmaceutical industry. Notably, four team members have held CEO positions at biotech firms. Collectively, they have contributed to over 120 drug discovery and development projects and have successfully brought 25 products to market.

Commenting on the funding, Benoît Durteste, CEO and CIO of ICG said: “ICG is proud to have been selected for the LIFTS scheme, which aligns with our longer-term ambition to be the premier European Life Sciences investor. As a UK headquartered global alternative asset manager with over 35 years of experience, we fully support this initiative to unlock UK institutional pension capital and catalyse investment into science and technology. The UK continues to deliver world class research and through our dedicated Life Sciences strategy, we look forward to supporting the growth ambitions of the UK’s most innovative Life Sciences companies.”

Allan Marchington, Head of Life Sciences for ICG, said: “The Life Sciences sector is instrumental in developing and scaling the innovations which will enable the world to tackle many of its healthcare challenges. ICG’s Life Sciences strategy and the LIFTS initiative will play a significant part in ensuring these ground-breaking companies have the investment they need to achieve their ambitions.”

Andy Briggs, Chief Executive Officer at Phoenix Group, commented: “Our successful bids into the LIFTS initiative, subject to internal governance processes, are testament to our continued commitment to give our customers access to the potential returns of a broader range of assets, in line with their international counterparts. Currently, the UK lags significantly behind comparable international markets (P7) who typically invest 20% of their pensions in private market assets, compared to 14% in the UK, with the UK remaining the lowest allocating country to private markets within the P7.

“LIFTS will give us more opportunities to provide stable, patient capital to the UK’s most innovative businesses to accelerate their growth, whilst delivering potential higher returns to our customers. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to deliver a successful outcome with customer protection remaining at its core.”

Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank said: “Long-Term Investment for Technology and Science is a potentially game-changing initiative. With the intention of catalysing more than £1bn of funding, including from UK pension funds, LIFTS will support the growth and ambitions of the UK’s most innovative science and technology companies, which with the right finance and support can become the world-beating businesses of tomorrow. We welcome today’s announcement by the Chancellor, and look forward to concluding agreements with Phoenix Group, Schroders plc and ICG plc, and to working with them as they build towards making their first investments under the initiative by the end of this year.”