Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) has completed a £130 million investment in Wirral Waters One (WWO), the cornerstone residential scheme for the broader development of Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters.

Working in partnership with Peel L&P and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (WMBC), PIC is the sole investor for the build-to-rent scheme, comprising 500 one and two-bedroom apartments, with an affordable housing component of 100 homes. Rents on the affordable units will be a maximum of 80% of open market value.

Peel L&P has launched a 30-year strategy which will see Wirral Waters become the largest regeneration project in the UK, creating up to 20,000 permanent jobs

The project aims to transform the 500-acre brownfield site into a sustainable location for local and international businesses, as well as offering a breadth of new housing opportunities.

The build-to-rent development will use a long-term, regeneration lease structure, providing funding for WMBC which would not have been available from traditional structures, whilst generating the secure long-term cashflows which allow PIC to match its pension payments decades into the future.

James Whitaker, executive director of development at Peel L&P, says: “This project is a great example of partnership working that will not only deliver this development but will act as a model for other schemes in the future.

“The combination of an experienced regeneration company, a long-term investor, and a progressive local authority will deliver real value for all our collective stakeholders.”

Hayley Rees, head of investment strategy at PIC, adds: “Our investment in WWO is another step in the development of our purposeful investment strategy and ultimately is a model for how long-term investors can play a key role in the levelling up agenda.

“We need secure long-term cashflows to back the pensions of our 300,000 policyholders and so seek to invest in assets with a high degree of social value, because what makes sense for society helps us achieve our purpose over decades.”

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