Golding’s third infrastructure fund: first closing at EUR 215 million

Munich — Golding Capi­tal Part­ners (Golding) has alre­ady recei­ved € 215 million in capi­tal commit­ments for its infra­struc­ture invest­ment program Golding Infra­struc­ture 2018 at first closing. With the third gene­ra­tion of the invest­ment stra­tegy deve­lo­ped in 2012 and proven in two prede­ces­sor funds, Golding under­lines its posi­tion as one of the leading inde­pen­dent provi­ders of infra­struc­ture invest­ments in Europe.

The Golding Infra­struc­ture 2018 invest­ment program follows a conser­va­tive invest­ment stra­tegy and offers early ongo­ing distri­bu­ti­ons with an attrac­tive total port­fo­lio yield of 7% to 8% p.a. Net IRR. The fund plans to build up a broadly diver­si­fied port­fo­lio of around 200 infra­struc­ture projects in the Euro­pean and North Ameri­can markets. At the same time, important sectors such as energy, trans­por­ta­tion, utili­ties and social infra­struc­ture are to be covered by the port­fo­lio. Invest­ments are plan­ned in around 15 infra­struc­ture funds (prima­ries and secon­da­ries) with a focus on conser­va­tive core / core plus invest­ments and brown­field projects as well as selec­tive co-inves­t­­ments. Co-inves­t­­ments in parti­cu­lar offer insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors the oppor­tu­nity to achieve a targe­ted geogra­phic or secto­ral focus and thus support a rapid port­fo­lio build-up.

Golding was able to attract a total of 20 insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors for the current invest­ment program at the first closing. Inves­tors include insu­rance compa­nies, pension funds, banks and savings banks. Almost 80 percent of the volume was subscri­bed by exis­ting inves­tors in the two infra­struc­ture prede­ces­sor funds. “We are plea­sed with the strong recep­tion and contin­ued confi­dence of our inves­tors. We have main­tai­ned our conser­va­tive stra­te­gic approach and have high-performing and distri­­bu­­tion-orien­­ted port­fo­lios,” said Huber­tus Theile-Ochel, Mana­ging Direc­tor at Golding. “Long-stan­­ding port­fo­lio rela­ti­onships and substan­tial subscrip­tion levels make us a rele­vant part­ner even for mana­gers who are in high demand. From this, we gene­rate signi­fi­cant advan­ta­ges for our inves­tors. We have alre­ady been able to subscribe to three high-cali­­ber target funds for the current program,” adds Dr. Matthias Reicher­ter, Chief Invest­ment Offi­cer at Golding. Further invest­ments for the coming months are alre­ady under review. Over­all, the port­fo­lio is to be built up over around three years with broad diversification.

The attrac­ti­ve­ness of the infra­struc­ture asset class has led to an increase in compe­ti­tion. This is why infra­struc­ture funds must also incre­asingly engage in complex tran­sac­tions and correctly assess project risks in order to achieve the returns and distri­bu­tion levels expec­ted by inves­tors. Deal sourcing is beco­ming the defi­ning issue. “Only expe­ri­en­ced teams can handle comple­xity respon­si­bly and achieve an attrac­tive risk-adequate return,” Reicher­ter explains. Against this back­drop, Golding’s infra­struc­ture team focu­ses on specia­list fund mana­gers with diffe­ren­tia­ted stra­tegy, in-depth market know­ledge and estab­lished network, who are able to execute complex tran­sac­tions and thus iden­tify attrac­tive deals even in an increased compe­ti­tive environment.

“The current envi­ron­ment requi­res a lot of exper­tise and strong market access. Despite fierce compe­ti­tion and the huge volume of invest­ments gathe­ring in capi­tal markets world­wide, Golding was able to secure attrac­tive invest­ments — both prima­ries and complex struc­tu­red secon­da­ries as well as co-inves­t­­ments. As a result, we have alre­ady succee­ded in inves­t­ing around 800 million euros in the infra­struc­ture asset class alone since the begin­ning of the year,” comm­ents Jeremy Golding (photo), foun­der and CEO of Golding.

About Golding Capi­tal Partners
Golding Capi­tal Part­ners GmbH is one of the leading inde­pen­dent asset mana­gers for private equity, private debt and infra­struc­ture in Europe. With a team of around 90 employees in Munich, Luxem­bourg, New York and Tokyo, Golding Capi­tal Part­ners supports insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors in buil­ding their invest­ment stra­tegy and mana­ges assets of more than €7 billion. The more than 160 insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors include insu­rance compa­nies, pension funds, foun­da­ti­ons as well as banks, savings banks and coope­ra­tive banks.