Matthieu Favas
The transaction, which counts Belgian fund DG Infra among its lead sponsors, includes the first greenfield project bond backed by the EIB’s credit enhancement facility.
The fresh hires will join the Australian fund manager’s London and New York offices.
The commitment comes as the Australian fund manager launches the UK’s first inflation-linked fund dedicated to the asset class, with a target in the ‘hundreds of millions’.
The vehicle will provide grant funding in support of loans for projects in Southern Africa, with a Request for Proposal expected in early April.
The infrastructure debt investor has bought unwrapped project bonds on behalf of Stanhope Pension Trust, the first such investment by a UK pension.
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The US asset manager has recruited Gerry Jennings, a founding member of AMP’s infrastructure debt funds, to head the new unit.
Institutional investors could provide an extra $200bn in annual funding to the sector, helping plug the $500 billion yearly gap left by public cuts in the period to 2030.
The CHF350m issue, the EIB’s first CAB transaction of 2014, comes after a record year for issuance of the green instrument.
Although players in Australia essentially pioneered infrastructure debt, the asset class is not drawing institutional investor interest in the country as quickly as it is overseas.
The UK firm, which will run the $250m vehicle alongside emerging market lender Exotix, expects the capital to be fully deployed within four to six months.