Whitehelm Capital has raised an initial €500m for its infrastructure debt fund.

The infrastructure investment manager said the Whitehelm Capital Infrastructure Debt Partners I fund reached its fundraising target at first close and is expected to hold a final close by the summer of 2020.

Whitehelm said it has made its first two investments for the investment platform, investing in both a utility and a broadcast infrastructure business.

Alexander Waller, head of infrastructure debt, Whitehelm Capital said: “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.”