Independent infrastructure investment manager Whitehelm Capital (Whitehelm) has held the first close on its infrastructure debt fund, Whitehelm Capital Infrastructure Debt Partners I, and reaching its fundraising target of EU500 million across its infrastructure debt platform dedicated to high‐yielding investments. The firm expects to hold a final close on the Fund by the summer of 2020.
Whitehelm focuses on debt issued by defensive, non‐cyclical infrastructure borrowers in OECD countries, a strategy that has returned more than 9% (USD, hedged, pre‐fees) since inception in 2001, without a single default, impairment, restructuring or loss on its debt investments. The debt Fund targets returns of 400bps to 600bps over reference rates with protection against negative rates, with a ten‐year life.
Whitehelm has also agreed the first two investments for the investment platform, investing in both a utility and a broadcast infrastructure business. This transaction brings Whitehelm’s investments in infrastructure debt to date to EUR1.33 billion.
Alexander Waller, Head of Infrastructure Debt, Whitehelm Capital, says: “We are delighted to have the trust and support of our new investors to invest their money in high‐quality infrastructure debt assets. We see increasing interest from investors in defensive, yet attractively yielding, strategies with proven track‐records and stable, long‐standing investment teams, as is the case with our infrastructure debt investment strategy. Through the cycle, we expect high‐yielding infrastructure debt to deliver very attractive risk‐adjusted returns, providing a rare combination of strong cash returns and insulation against future volatility.”
