UK Pension Providers Hold £22.1 Billion in Private Markets Under the Mansion House Accord, 6.6% of Growth-Phase DC Assets Against a 10% Goal for 2030

The 17 UK workplace pension providers that signed the Mansion House Accord held £22.1 billion in global private markets at 31 December 2025, according to a progress report published on 20 and 21 October. Of that, £11.1 billion was in the UK. The sums equal 6.6% and 3.3% of the £334 billion of growth-phase default assets the signatories manage for defined contribution savers. The Accord's goal is 10% in private markets by 2030, including 5% in the UK, subject to fiduciary and regulatory duties. On both measures the group is about two thirds of the way there.

Where the UK money sits

Property and real estate, including social and affordable housing, accounts for £8.0 billion of the £11.1 billion UK holding, or about 72.1%. Infrastructure is £1.3 billion (11.7%), private debt and credit £0.9 billion (8.1%) and private equity £0.5 billion (4.5%). A further £0.4 billion (3.6%) sits in investment trusts. Excluding investment trusts, the global total is £19.3 billion, of which £10.7 billion is in the UK.

What is already signed

Signatories have also signed deals for a further £3 billion in UK private markets that had not been deployed by the year-end and are not in the £11.1 billion. On our arithmetic, if that money were deployed with no other change, the UK holding would be about £14.1 billion, or about 4.2% of the £334 billion base. Reaching 5% would need about £16.7 billion, roughly £5.6 billion more than today, and 10% globally would need about £33.4 billion, or £11.3 billion more. Those figures assume the asset base stays flat, which it will not, so treat them as a rough gauge.

What it signals

Private equity is the smallest named UK category, at £0.5 billion against property at £8.0 billion. Signatories say the pipeline of UK investment opportunities needs to develop in both quantity and quality, and they call for help with regulatory barriers and more focus on the value investments deliver for savers, not only cost. That is a demand-side message: the money is there, and the question is the supply of suitable products.

What a GP can take from it

This is our advice. If you manage UK private equity, infrastructure or private credit, expect pension fund providers in this group to ask how your terms, valuation and reporting fit a pension default fund, and keep those answers short and written down. Ask early how a provider reaches private markets, through its own mandates or pooled funds, because the route decides who your counterparty is. Our piece on Nest's HarbourVest mandate shows one outsourced route, and our note on record UK venture fundraising shows how concentrated UK venture fundraising has become. Browse UK allocators and pension funds to see who else is active.

What to watch next

Watch for the next progress report, for how fast the £3 billion is deployed, and for whether private equity rises above 4.5% of the UK holding. FundLinx members can see which UK pension funds are active this quarter.

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