First State secures €560M in infrastructure investment mandates

First State Investments has secured approximately €560 million in new infrastructure investment mandates in less than twelve months, growing its total infrastructure assets under management to circa €2 billion.

"The growth in funds under management from our Infrastructure Investment business reflects a combination of our long-term outperformance and the dedicated skills we have built in asset management, investment management and transactions, coupled with an increasing demand for infrastructure-style investment products," said Danny Latham, Head of Infrastructure Investments, Europe for First State Investments.

In the past two years, First State has led successful consortium bids for two regulated infrastructure assets in the United Kingdom including AWG, a water and sewage services provider, and Electricity North West, an electricity distribution network.

"In the recent volatile markets these assets have proved attractive investments in that they deliver strong predictable real returns that provide a hedge against inflation".

"Combined with our 14-year track record, these acquisitions have attracted further top-tier clients to our infrastructure business. In a challenging environment we have added large-scale institutional investors from France, Germany and the Middle East as well as major pension funds in Australia. We have now grown our Infrastructure Investment team to include more than 30 dedicated professionals globally, reflecting the demand we have seen from the client side even in the current market conditions."

"We continue to remain buoyant about the future of infrastructure as a critical element to a diversified investment portfolio. According to estimates, Europe is home to approximately 33% (€4.6 trillion) of global estimated infrastructure stock by value, with only a small proportion held by the private sector.

Infrastructure spend is set to increase across the globe as governments look to the sector as a key player in boosting economic growth as the world steadies itself for the downturn. We see the asset class as a significant growth opportunity for long-term investors and with global infrastructure spending requirements increasing we are seeing a commensurate rise in the level of attractive investment opportunities," Latham concluded.