CBRE Caledon, the infrastructure division of the global brokerage giant CBRE, has won a major mandate to invest £3B on behalf of the pension fund for UK workers.

Nest has appointed CBRE Calderon and GLIL Infrastructure to invest in the sector over the next 10 years, including social housing.

CBRE moved into infrastructure investment management in 2017 when it bought a majority stake in Toronto-based Caledon Capital Management, which became a division of CBRE Global Investors. The division has more than $7B in assets under management, and CBRE GI has $87B.

Nest is the UK’s attempt to set up a national pension fund like the sovereign wealth funds of Norway or Middle Eastern states, or the regional superannuation funds of Canada and Australia. Workers are automatically enrolled into the system, and their pension contributions are invested by Nest.

This is the first time it has invested into infrastructure. CBRE Caledon’s mandate is to help Nest invest directly in global core and core-plus infrastructure projects. It will provide Nest access to an infrastructure fund sponsored by the firm, with the opportunity to also co-invest in select investments to help Nest members take advantage of bigger projects.

Types of infrastructure Nest could be investing in include fibre networks, social housing, water and waste treatment plants, and seaports. Nest's initial commitment to these mandates will be £650M, with significant further commitments in subsequent years.