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GLIL Infrastructure was launched in 2015. To celebrate GLIL’s ten years of infrastructure investing in the UK, we have created this video, where our teams talk about the past ten years, the present portfolio and look to the future.
GLIL Infrastructure marked its 10-year anniversary this May with a panel discussion at The Soho Hotel in London, bringing together leaders from across the investment, energy and infrastructure sectors.
The event was both a chance to reflect on a decade of long-term collaboration and to look ahead towards the evolving role of infrastructure in delivering public value in a fast-changing world, while also celebrating GLIL’s continued growth and welcoming potential new investors to join the fund.
Moderated by Louise Jack, Chief Operating and Finance Officer at LPPI, the panel featured:
In line with the occasion, the discussion opened with reflections on GLIL’s founding in 2015.
Paddy Dowdall, one of the initiative’s original architects, described the early 2010s as a pivotal moment for UK pension funds. He explained there was growing recognition across the sector of the need for better access to long-term, productive investment opportunities – particularly in infrastructure. Political momentum was also building at that time, with the Treasury under then-Chancellor George Osborne actively encouraging pension funds to play a greater role in supporting national infrastructure development.
Yet the market offerings at the time didn’t fully align with the needs of long-term investors. “Having worked for a pension fund for a long time and investing in infrastructure funds, there was a frustration with some of the options available,” Dowdall recalled. Many traditional infrastructure funds were relatively costly, short-term in nature and offered limited control to investors, with structures that often prioritised intermediaries over beneficiaries.
This, coupled with growing calls for cost transparency and value for money, helped catalyse the creation of GLIL: a cost-effective1, long-term investment fund designed to align institutional capital with long-term public outcomes.
As GLIL enters its second decade, the broader infrastructure landscape is also at an inflection point. Across the UK, the scale and urgency of investment required to meet long-term development and decarbonisation goals is becoming increasingly clear. Recent estimates from the National Infrastructure Commission suggest that between £70 – 80 billion will be needed annually – a step change in ambition that brings both challenge and opportunity.
Against this backdrop, the panel reflected on how the market has evolved over the past ten years – and what it will take for long-term investors to continue playing a meaningful role in shaping the UK’s infrastructure future.
Over the past decade, infrastructure investment has had to navigate a turbulent macroeconomic backdrop.
Dowdall reflected on the early 2010s, when ultra-low interest rates sparked fierce competition for yield-generating assets. That dynamic has since been upended by major global and domestic shocks that have reshaped interest rates and the balance between debt and equity returns.
The rise – and limits – of renewable energy
Through all of these market shifts, one consistent focus for GLIL has been renewable energy. While not a dedicated green fund, the platform has steadily increased its exposure to renewables. Jonathan Ord noted that, as of 2025, 30 – 35% of the portfolio is in the sector.
GLIL’s approach to renewables has also evolved. The fund has developed more confidence in taking on construction-phase risk, as seen in its backing of Lyceum Solar – a solar business built in partnership from the ground up – that now powers approximately 125,000 homes2. It’s also invested in Rathcool, a portfolio of 11 operational onshore wind farms in Ireland, with more opportunities on the radar.
This emphasis reflects wider market momentum. Dr Nina Skorupska noted that over 50% of UK electricity now comes from renewable sources, largely thanks to sustained government support for offshore wind. But she warned that the energy transition is lagging in other sectors such as heating and transport. GLIL’s leadership in renewables was praised as an example of how pension funds can drive progress.
Despite success with mature technologies, panellists were candid about the systemic barriers facing newer ones. Skorupska pointed to challenges facing green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electrolysers, which continue to face regulatory and market hurdles that hinder innovation.
She suggested that public bodies like GB Energy – formed under the UK Government’s 2030 agenda – could play a role in facilitating progress, particularly by addressing issues such as grid capacity, planning delays and supply chain constraints while de-risking early stage projects. However, she noted that real momentum will come from effective collaboration across public and private sectors.
Elliott echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of coordinated action between government, public bodies and long-term investors. Rather than public institutions working in isolation, he argued, it’s about creating the conditions where initiatives like GLIL – and the broader UK pensions industry – can channel capital into the technologies and infrastructure needed for the future.
Finally, the panel considered the shifting role of public-private partnerships (PPPs). Elliott noted a recent change in tone from government, with increasing willingness to revisit PPPs in a modernised form.
If designed effectively, he argued, such models could unlock a steady pipeline of investable projects – particularly if backed by stable policy and regulatory frameworks. “The UK pioneered the PPP model,” he said. “The rest of the world has caught up and are now implementing it in a really successful way. If you look in Europe, or even in the US as well, there is a view that the UK is missing out.”
Looking to the future, the panel agreed on the scale and urgency of the UK’s infrastructure needs.
Nick Elliott expressed cautious optimism about a forthcoming 10-year strategy expected in June, describing it as a chance to provide investors with the stable policy environment and pipeline they need to be successful. “If government can get that right,” he said, “we’re going to have something that us at GIIA, and the wider investor community, have been calling for for a long time – which is a long-term join-up between delivery, policy and regulation when it comes to infrastructure.”
Elliott also argued that the UK must update its public-private partnership model to keep pace with other countries. With the right balance of risk and reward, modernised PPPs could unlock more investable projects and help restore investor confidence in delivery.
Dr Nina Skorupska highlighted the supporting role of GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund in de-risking early-stage technologies such as tidal, deep geothermal and floating offshore wind. Both she and Elliott agreed these institutions must help crowd investment in, rather than compete with private capital. This resonates with GLIL’s commitment to mobilising long-term, predominantly UK-based capital into infrastructure, reinforcing the importance of aligning public initiatives with institutional investment to unlock sustainable growth.
For GLIL, the next phase builds on 10 years of purpose-led, long-term investment.
Jonathan Ord reaffirmed the fund’s commitment to renewables as well as its growing confidence in earlier-stage, construction-phase investments. These initiatives align with government objectives to stimulate UK growth and deliver new infrastructure, as exemplified by projects like Lyceum Solar, which showcases GLIL’s capacity to both create and acquire assets.
Looking forward, GLIL aims to scale its impact across both mature and emerging technologies. Ord pointed to planning and grid access as key enablers of future growth, alongside continued alignment between commercial viability and public value.
GLIL’s founding structure – created by pension funds, for pension funds – remains central to its ability to deliver this. With strong governance and a collaborative ethos, the platform is well-positioned to continue connecting institutional capital with national priorities.
After a decade of proven returns and public value, GLIL offers a blueprint for how patient, purpose-driven investment can shape the UK’s infrastructure future.