LONDON (Reuters) - British insurer Legal & General has formed a 50:50 partnership with U.S. developer Ancora to invest in U.S. life sciences and technology real estate in the first U.S. investment by its alternative assets arm, the insurer said on Wednesday.
Legal & General will invest an initial $500 million through the new company Ancora L&G, with plans to bring investment up to $4 billion over the next five years, it said in a statement.
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred interest in real estate in life sciences, which spans sectors such as biomedical devices and pharmaceuticals.
More recently, the war in Ukraine and its impact on supply chains and inflation has marred the global economic outlook.
But demand will remain for life sciences real estate, said Laura Mason, CEO of L&G's alternative assets arm Legal & General Capital, helped by a shortage of laboratory space.
"We recognise there may be ups and downs which we will have to manage very carefully, it may be that we are a little bit slower to start than we had hoped," she said.
"We think these sectors are here for the long term."
L&G Capital already has similar investments in British university cities Oxford and Manchester. Ancora is based in Durham, North Carolina, and has staff in cities including Chicago, New York and Washington.
The joint venture company will be run by Ancora CEO Josh Parker.
Mason said the insurer would look for co-investors in the new company's assets from among L&G's institutional investor base. Legal & General manages over $1.8 trillion in assets.
L&G is also considering expanding into other sectors in the United States, Mason said, mirroring its investments in Britain such as in housing and climate transition.
($1 = 0.7994 pounds)