People Property Place James Agar, Head of Real Estate Origination at PIC Capital - How Pension Funds Are Powering UK Housing
What happens when billions of pounds of pension money flow into real estate? Can creative deal structures solve the UK’s housing and regeneration challenges in a high-rate environment?
This week, I sat down with James Agar, Head of Real Estate Origination at PIC Capital, the investment arm of Pension Insurance Corporation plc, to unpack how institutional capital is reshaping housing, regeneration, and long-income strategies across the UK.
James takes us inside PIC’s £50bn balance sheet and explains how his team sources, structures, and deploys capital across Build to Rent, affordable housing, senior living, and major regeneration schemes like Miller’s Quay.
We discuss how regeneration leases and innovative financing models are unlocking projects, how ESG and social value are being embedded into institutional strategies, and why the lines between real estate and infrastructure are blurring faster than ever.
Key Topics Covered In This Episode:
✅ Institutional Capital in Action – How PIC invests £50bn into long-term, inflation-linked real estate
✅ Regeneration Leases – Creative structures unlocking major housing and urban projects
✅ Affordable Housing – Partnerships with Homes England and Muse to deliver low-carbon schemes
✅ BTR & Living Sectors – Why single-family housing and suburban BTR are key growth areas
✅ Viability Challenges – Making deals stack in a high interest rate world
✅ ESG & Social Value – How PIC aligns pension liabilities with real-world impact
✅ Real Estate vs Infrastructure – The blurring lines shaping future investment strategies
Oh, and one last thing…
In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal?
James’s answer did not disappoint 👌
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