Pension fund invests in central Scotland motorway upgrade in UK first

Amey is part of the Scottish Roads Partnership, the preferred bidder for the design, construction, financing and operation of the motorway improvement

Amey is part of the Scottish Roads Partnership, the preferred bidder for the design, construction, financing and operation of the motorway improvement

A UK pension fund is investing in a £350m project to improve central Scotland's motorway links.

Transport Scotland is issuing £350m of project bonds to finance the construction of a new M8 motorway section between Baillieston and Newhouse between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and improvements to the M73 and M74.

A consortium of fund investors, led by Allianz Global Investors and including the Stanhope Pension Trust, is buying £175m of the bonds. The other £175m is being funded by the European Investment Bank.

In a statement, Adrian Jones, a director in the infrastructure debt team at Allianz Global Investors, said: "There have been a number of initiatives to encourage investment in new build UK infrastructure by institutional investors via listed project bonds. AllianzGI is therefore delighted to be the first investment manager to make such an investment possible for a UK pension fund client."