Fiera and Packaged Living’s single-family housing strategy appoints ex-CEO of LGPS Central Mike Weston as strategic advisor

Fiera Real Estate UK Limited (“Fiera”), the European real estate arm of Fiera Capital Corporation (TSX: FSZ) and Packaged Living Limited (“Packaged Living”), the rental living specialist, have appointed Mike Weston as Strategic Advisor to the pair’s recently announced UK Single-Family Housing Strategy(“FRESH”).

Weston’s experience spans over three decades with over half in senior leadership roles at local government pension schemes (“LGPS”), private and charity sector pension schemes and commercial investment managers, including Chief Executive of LGPS Central, (2019-2023) Chief Executive of the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (“PiP”) (2014-2019) and CIO of Daily Mail & General Trust Pensions (2009-2014) (“DMGT”).

As a Professional Trustee at Pi Partnership, Weston Chairs the Nuffield Health Pension and Life Assurance Scheme – a hybrid defined benefit / defined contribution pension scheme and holds advisory and trustee positions at master trust and UK industry sector pension schemes, totalling approximately £36 billion in total assets held on behalf of more than 360,000 scheme members. He is also Chair of Trustees for the Institute of Cancer Research Pension Scheme.

Announced this month, FRESH is targeting £1 billion in assets under management having recently completed its first close. Structured as an open-ended, core-plus fund, seed capital for FRESH is provided by a group of institutional investors enabling immediate deployment into an existing pipeline focused on the delivery of high-quality, professionally managed and sustainable rental homes across supply-constrained locations.

The strategy, which has the Sustainability Impact label under the UK Sustainable Disclosure Regulations (“UKSDR”) will invest through forward-funding and forward-commitment agreements with developers and housebuilders, reflecting a scalable approach aligned with the long-term growth ambitions of both partners.

As Strategic Advisor, Weston will advise on the impact strategy and capital formation as FRESH builds upon Fiera and Packaged Living’s established record in UK living sectors.

Mike Weston, Strategic Advisor to FRESH, said: “Fiera and Packaged Living have a long-established track record in the living sectors, delivering high-quality, sustainable homes. In FRESH, both teams have a clear focus on addressing a critical shortfall in the UK housing market while offering institutional investors long-term yield.”

Charles Allen, Head of European Real Estate, Fiera Real Estate, said: “Mike’s excellent knowledge of the UK institutional landscape and governance across major pension schemes will prove invaluable as FRESH moves quickly following its first close, delivering sustainable returns for our investors that set standards in institutional-grade single-family housing.”

 Ed Ellerington, CEO, Packaged Living, said: “For over thirty years Mike has dedicated his career to delivering positive outcomes for public, private and charity sector pension beneficiaries. As momentum builds behind FRESH, his counsel will ensure we maximise the socio-economic impact of our portfolio, reflecting the shifting preferences we see among institutional investors.”