UK-listed investment firm 3i Infrastructure has, in a trading update, revealed a continuing contrast between good performance in its European portfolio and the volatility being experienced by the 3i India Infrastructure Fund.
The Australian fund manager has hired David Cooper to help build out its infrastructure debt team for the UK and Europe. Cooper was in charge of raising Barclays’s debut £500m UK infrastructure senior debt fund, which has been on ice for the better part of a year.
The Swiss renewable energy fund manager is targeting a €100m final close for its debut infrastructure fund by the end of November this year. The firm has just signed a solar PV partnership with Eneco in France and Belgium.
The Connecticut-based fund manager has registered SEC filings showing progress made on its Global Core Infrastructure Fund, which has a final target of $3bn. Former CPPIB infrastructure chief Graeme Bevans is head of Alinda’s core infrastructure team.
The infrastructure fund, dedicated to infrastructure investments in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, will help develop a 114MW wind farm project together with EPGE. The project is Jordan’s first privately financed wind farm.
The UK bank’s infrastructure funds team has reached a significant milestone on its way to raising a planned £250m for investment in UK greenfield projects. The bank closed a European fund earlier this year and is also in the market with a US-focused vehicle.
A consortium of investors advised by Access Capital Partners, including the Netherlands’ APG and PGGM, has completed the purchase of a 70% stake in tank storage firm LBC Terminals from Australian financial group Challenger for $297.5m.
The issue proceeds will be used to partly finance the acquisition of three assets in the UK and the Netherlands. The fund manager might also seek to raise a further £25m to help finance a third-party acquisition.
Jeffrey Altman (pictured), a director who co-led global fundraising and fund management for First State Investments’ European Diversified Infrastructure fund, has left the firm. Altman had been with the business since January 2008.
Brett Himbury, head of Australia’s Industry Funds Management, warns pensions that while investing directly in infrastructure might save money on fees, it can end up costing them more money through lower returns.
The GCP Infrastructure Fund is offering credit protection on a portfolio of 20 UK PFI loans worth £307m. The structured deal allows the bank to free up capital to grant new loans.
IFM has been remarkably successful in attracting big-tickets from US pensions, demonstrating that its peculiar ownership model and culture are resonating with neophyte investors.
In its latest six-monthly results announcement, the listed UK infrastructure investment firm has applauded government programmes designed to ‘ensure that important public infrastructure is delivered in a timely and efficient manner’ – highlighting the UK and Australia in particular.
The John Laing Infrastructure Fund has posted solid results for the first six months of the year, growing its portfolio value by 4.5%. Other highlights of the half year include raising £31m of new equity and six new investments.
The Singapore-based fund manager is reported to have completed the second deal from its debut fund – within a month of tying up the first. This time, it has invested in a $320m transaction in India’s hydropower sector.