Signatories to the Mansion House Accord held £11.1bn in UK private markets at the end of last year, according to joint tracking by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Pensions UK, reported by Alternative Credit Investor. The UK allocation represents more than half of the £22bn in defined contribution (DC) growth-phase assets the signatories have invested in private markets globally.

The accord is a voluntary, industry-led commitment coordinated by the ABI, Pensions UK and the City of London Corporation and signed by 17 pension funds, including Aegon UK, Aon, Aviva, Legal & General and M&G. Its goal is for signatories to hold 10% of DC pension assets in private markets, including 5% in UK private markets, by 2030. Beyond the £11.1bn already invested, signatories have signed deals for a further £3bn of UK private markets allocations.

The breakdown is less encouraging for credit managers. Property and real estate, including social and affordable housing, accounted for £8bn of the UK total, followed by infrastructure at £1.3bn. Private debt and credit attracted £0.9bn.

"Firms' strong progress towards their Mansion House commitments is a welcome and important milestone," said Yvonne Braun, director of long-term savings and health and protection policy at the ABI. She added that sustaining momentum "will depend on a strong pipeline of investable opportunities and a shift across the workplace pension market away from a narrow focus on cost and towards long-term value for savers."

Signatories reported that the pipeline of UK investable opportunities still needs to be developed, alongside government support to overcome regulatory barriers. Zoe Alexander, chief policy officer at Pensions UK, said the government's new value for money framework and closer coordination between Whitehall and public finance institutions should help accelerate private market investment.

For private credit managers courting UK DC capital, the figures show the opportunity is real but so far skewed toward real assets. With private debt at well under a tenth of the UK allocation, managers building DC-compatible vehicles such as LTAFs will need to show that credit strategies can fit the cost and value-for-money tests that signatories cite as the main constraint.