Allianz Global Investors has invested £55m for clients in a UK dock redevelopment.
The investment, through a 30-year private placement bond, will finance the redevelopment of Dover’s western dock and the expansion of capacity at the port’s eastern dock.
The long-term investment by UK pension funds and international insurance companies managed by AllianzGI through its Allianz UK Infrastructure Fund 1, LP and parallel direct investment mandates will supplement shorter-term banking facilities.
UK infrastructure debt portfolio manager, Adrian Jones, said: “The need for investment in UK transport infrastructure, to boost the country’s connections with global trade routes and drive economic growth, is universally acknowledged.”
Jones said the needs of pension and life assurance investors are not being met by traditional capital products.
The bond is a deferred draw unlisted ‘qualifying private placement’ - a funding mechanism available following UK tax reform in 2015/16 to encourage international investors to invest in long-term UK infrastructure without requiring a stock market listing for debt which is acquired on a ‘take-and-hold’ basis.
AllianzGI recently announced it intends to launch a second UK infrastructure debt fund this year.
