Whitehelm Capital reaches infrastructure debt fundraising target

Leading independent infrastructure investment manager Whitehelm Capital (“Whitehelm”) today announced first close on its infrastructure debt fund, Whitehelm Capital Infrastructure Debt Partners I (“the Fund”), and attainment of its fundraising target of €500 million across its infrastructure debt platform dedicated to high-yielding investments. The firm expects to hold a final close on the Fund by the summer of 2020.

Whitehelm focuses on debt issued by defensive, non-cyclical infrastructure borrowers in OECD countries, a strategy that has returned more than 9% (USD, hedged, pre-fees) since inception in 2001, without a single default, impairment, restructuring or loss on its debt investments. The debt Fund targets returns of 400bps to 600bps over reference rates with protection against negative rates, with a ten-year life.

Whitehelm has also agreed the first two investments for the investment platform, investing in both a utility and a broadcast infrastructure business. This transaction brings Whitehelm’s investments in infrastructure debt to date to €1.33 billion.

Alexander Waller, Head of Infrastructure Debt, Whitehelm Capital said:
“We are delighted to have the trust and support of our new investors to invest their money in high-quality infrastructure debt assets. 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.”