Stafford Capital Partners has invested £58m (€68.5m) to buy a limited partner’s (LP) interest in a fund managed by UK-based infrastructure fund manager Equitix.
The Equitix Fund III fund is a 2013-vintage vehicle that includes 46 mostly public-private partnership/private finance initiative assets located in the UK and Italy across social infrastructure, transportation, environmental services, and renewables.
Stafford financed the transaction through its fourth infrastructure secondaries fund, Stafford Infrastructure Secondaries Fund IV (SISF IV) alongside a managed account for a single investor. The investment is the 13th to be completed by SISF IV and brings the fund’s committed capital to approximately €350m.
William Greene, managing partner at Stafford Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted to expand our exposure to core operating infrastructure assets through this transaction. This diversified portfolio exhibits strong cashflow visibility alongside creditworthy counterparties, delivers an immediate and stable yield, and provides access to a reputable and experienced manager.”
Hugh Crossley, Equitix CEO, said: “The secondary market for stakes in infrastructure funds continues to grow and evolve and there is a strong appetite for the assets and, importantly, the diverse yielding portfolios that Equitix manages.
“This transaction demonstrates that we can efficiently facilitate good liquidity outcomes for our investors from our funds. Although some of our funds have an organised liquidity window at year 10 in their life, this transaction serves as confirmation that we can assist our investors to access liquidity in the secondary LP market at any stage in a fund’s life; whether that is with the help of a secondary broker or by running the process in-house.”
Equitix is a long-term infrastructure manager of funds that traditionally have a 25-year fund life.
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