The Pension Fund Committee of Lancashire County Council met on Friday, 20th February, 2026, to discuss the proposed demerger of Local Pensions Partnership Investments Limited (LPPI) and the admission of new partner funds. The committee approved a dividend in specie to facilitate this demerger and recommended that Full Council also approve the demerger and related steps.

Local Pensions Partnership Investments Limited - Admission of New Partner Funds

The committee approved the activity undertaken to date and the next stages in the process of demerging Local Pensions Partnership Investments Limited (LPPI) from Local Pensions Partnership Limited (LPPL) and admitting new Partner Funds into the LPPI pool. This significant decision involves LPPI becoming the subsidiary of a new holding company, TopCo, with Lancashire County Council, the London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA), and seven new Partner Funds as equal shareholders. The County Council and LPFA will continue to be shareholders in LPPL, which will manage its remaining subsidiary, Local Pensions Partnership Administration Ltd.

The committee approved a dividend in specie to facilitate this demerger, subject to the agreement of Full Council on 12 March 2026 to amend LPPL's Articles of Association. Authority was delegated to the Director of Finance and Commerce (S151 Officer), in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and the Head of the Pension Fund, to implement this dividend. The committee also noted future developments regarding internal governance arising from the admission of new Partner Funds into the expanded LPPI pool.

Furthermore, the committee recommended that Full Council be asked to approve the demerger, with Lancashire County Council becoming a shareholder in TopCo. This recommendation includes delegating authority to the Director of Finance and Commerce to take all necessary steps, such as capital reductions, amendments to Articles of Association, subscription to shares in TopCo, and entering into various agreements, including the Shareholders' Agreement. Full Council will also be informed that a review of internal governance arrangements is underway.

The meeting was attended by County Councillor Mr Joel Michael Tetlow (Chair), County Councillors Joanne Ash, Mrs Marion Atkinson, Andy Blake, Matthew Brown, Rick Edwards, Gordon Johnson, Ashley Joynes, Prof. Michael Lavalette, Steve Rigby, and Mr Russell Walsh. Co-opted members present were Councillor Liz Johnson, Councillor Mark Clifford, Mr Paul Crewe, and Ms Sue Roylance. Apologies were received from County Councillor Tom Pickup, Ms J Eastham, Councillor M Smith, and Councillor David Whipp.

The committee confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 January 2026. No urgent business was raised, and the date of the next meeting was noted as 20 March 2026. The press and public were excluded from the discussion on Local Pensions Partnership Investments Limited due to the disclosure of exempt information.