English Cities Fund raises extra £200m for work pipeline

ECF is preferred long-term joint venture partner to develop an eight-acre site, known as Stockport 8, in Stockport town centreThe ECF development partnership between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse has raised an £200m to speed up its pipeline of regeneration projects.Formerly called the English Cities Fund, the partners are injecting an additional £100m of equity to be matched by an additional £100m of debt.This allows the ECF to double in size to £400m after being set up with £100m of investment cash back in 2001.Since its inception, the fund has completed five mixed-use regeneration projects worth £1.2bn across Liverpool, London, Plymouth, Salford, and Wakefield.By 2036, ECF said it now expected to deliver more than 1m sq ft of commercial space to support education; 17,000 new homes; and additional social infrastructure to support health and wellbeing.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.”Phil Mayall, Managing Director at Muse, added: “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.”