The future of UK social infrastructure – Newcore Capital

Newcore Capital believe they have a responsibility to engage actively with – and try to shape – the future, using the capital for which they are responsible to deliver robust financial returns while helping to solve the twin existential issues of climate change and the growing social divide.

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This paper sets out how investors and the real estate industry can understand and respond to challenges like climate change, resource scarcity, ageing populations, and the advent of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). New approaches to sustainability challenges, changing demographics, UK food production, and the further development of the space economy will drive growth of new sectors.

Investors expect that increased pressure on government spending will likely result in needing further private sector involvement in the provision of assets that serve essential needs. “There will be need to be more private-public funding to deal with a shortfall of government resourcing,” the report says.

Future need is influenced by structural shifts, such as ageing, widening wealth inequality, automation and the climate crisis – all of which will change how and where social infrastructure is delivered. Investors should look to assets that are resilient to major economic, political, and environmental shocks and that can be adapted to changing circumstances.

New areas for potential investment include assets like onshore fish farming facilities, as warming oceans, overfishing, and the growing global demand for protein will make such sites increasingly important to the UK’s food security. Energy storage facilities are also becoming increasingly important with the mass adoption of renewable energy sources and the electrification of the grid, while sustainable waste management facilities will adapt to new requirements in waste infrastructure stemming from resource shortages, circular economy approaches and supply chain risks.



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