Andy Thomson
9REN Group, a Southern European renewable energy company backed by US energy investment firm First Reserve, has raised €80m from a banking syndicate comprising Unicredit Group, Natixis and Mediocreval for the financing of five Italian photovoltaic parks.
The New Local Government Network, a UK think-tank focused on local government reform, has called for the mobilisation of pension capital to plug a shortfall in UK infrastructure spending over the coming years.
The Inspire Partnership consortium, comprising Babcock & Brown spinout Amber Infrastructure and developer Shepherd Construction, have announced financial close of the Liverpool Library private finance initiative. The project includes £51m of debt from Nationwide and Helaba.
AXA Private Equity, the French private equity and infrastructure investor, has paid €67m for a 50% stake in Autopista Trados 45, manager of a stretch of the M-45 highway in Madrid. The sale is part of a strategy by seller Cintra to realise proceeds from mature assets.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and World Bank unit the IFC have jointly raised €200m from a group of eight commercial banks in support of Russia’s Pulkovo airport PPP, which will see the reconstruction and expansion of the St Petersburg airport.
GCP Infrastructure Investments, a new infrastructure debt vehicle set up by fund manager Gravis Capital Partners, has raised £40m from an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. The fund aims to provide subordinated debt to UK private finance initiative projects.
Groupe Eurotunnel, the owner of the Channel Tunnel rail link between England and France, has confirmed it is part of a ‘British consortium’ bidding for High Speed 1, the UK’s only high-speed rail line, which runs from London’s St Pancras station to the Tunnel.
A new report predicts that a brief revival in the UK construction sector will be swiftly reversed by the coalition government’s austerity measures. It says that ‘many major infrastructure projects’ could be threatened and that the construction sector is likely to see a contraction for 2010 as a whole.
The transportation of natural gas has become a major theme in the infrastructure investment universe, as highlighted by the contribution made by two major pipeline projects to the supremacy of energy in InfrastructureInvestor Assets’ sector-focused league table for the second quarter.
A survey of European investors in infrastructure by placement agent Probitas Partners has discovered a preference for independent, global funds and ten-year fund durations. It also found that most European limited partners have dedicated allocations for infrastructure.