AlbaCore Capital Group has joined forces with MUFG Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation to launch a strategic partnership to provide global investors with access to European infrastructure debt.
The platform, which marks AlbaCore’s first foray into infrastructure debt, will launch investment strategies, leveraging MUFG Bank’s global project finance origination capabilities, combined with the mid‑market origination expertise of AlbaCore’s infrastructure debt investment team, as well as the fundraising and investment management capabilities of AlbaCore, First Sentier and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
The partners told IPE Real Assets that they want to grow the platform “to €5bn–€10bn over the next five years”.
While MUFG and AlbaCore will jointly shape the strategic direction of the platform, AlbaCore, as manager of the funds, will retain full independence in asset selection and portfolio management on behalf of investors.
As part of the platform, AlbaCore will launch a new high-yield infrastructure credit strategy, having secured seed funding from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
David Allen, managing partner and chief investment officer at AlbaCore, said: “Working together, AlbaCore and MUFG Bank will draw on a rich pool of expertise and resources to deliver compelling solutions to investors, underpinned by a specialised, experienced industry-leading investment team.
“Securing commitments from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation for the first vintage of the infrastructure high yield strategy is a testament to the attractiveness of this opportunity set to investors and is pivotal in helping to bring innovative projects to market. Launching this strategy is a significant milestone for our nfrastructure investment team, led by Viktor Kozel, managing director, and a natural extension of our broader credit offering.”
Kozel added: “Everything we do is driven by client demand. AlbaCore has observed increased demand from investors to allocate to [infrastructure debt]. It also provides a very nice diversifier for the portfolio investors. So for AlbaCore, it makes a lot of sense to also offer investors [infra debt] alongside our corporate credit strategies, structured credit strategies and private credit – and then to mix and match to reflect the appetite from investors. On the market side, the opportunity is huge.”
Kozel said that infrastructure debt aims to offer investors a resilient, income‑focused allocation that enhances portfolio stability while financing critical infrastructure.
“Returns are based on stable, predictable cash flows from long‑term essential assets, supported by low historical default rates, strong recovery levels and low correlation to broader markets,” he added.
Fumitaka Nakahama, global head, global corporate & investment banking business group, MUFG, said: “We are pleased to be working with AlbaCore on this strategic partnership. This partnership is designed to unlock attractive risk-adjusted returns by addressing a structural financing gap in UK and European infrastructure, a sector underpinned by long-term global macro trends.
“In combining MUFG and AlbaCore’s expertise, we hope to help unlock the debt pipeline needed to advance the infrastructure of the future.”
Takafumi Ihara, group head, asset management & investor services business group, MUFG, said: “We are excited to support the infrastructure debt platform through this anchor investment.
“This strategic initiative aligns with that of our global asset management business, which is to expand our private product capability and competitiveness globally in the infrastructure debt space.”
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