Our client manages one of the world’s leading Infrastructure Debt funds and are widely credited as a pioneer of the asset class. The business has a reputation for innovative balance sheet usage, which allows investors from many brackets to invest in this category using segregated or pooled funds and a lightly structured approach to placements which is proving popular among a mixture of investors, some of which face complex regulatory capital, matching-adjustment or liability matching dilemmas. But in an increasingly competitive space there is no room for complacency and a business which has to date epitomised the notion of the ‘self-fulfilling fund’ needs to put in place in a Fundraising/Client Relations structure which will ensure long term success.
Working within a homogenised real asset group with class leading equity, private debt and infrastructure capabilities is not a bad platform on which to build, but client functions across these businesses had developed on an iterative basis and there was uneven geographical coverage across the various categories involved. Distribution was also offered within the organisation on a cross-asset basis, so any new function needed to recognise organisational sensitivities, whilst ensuring optimal client delivery and functional efficiency.
AMC was involved in this process at the earliest stages of our client’s planning process, allowing for some meaningful input on the various jurisdictions and investor categories where client delivery could be optimised. Research involving investment consultants, pension schemes and local market contacts shed light on various degrees of success encountered by competitors in different parts of Northern Europe. In a business which had been built from scratch by executives with an investment background (as opposed to a distribution one), there was a need to spend time considering the comparative merits of UK, Northern Europe or DACH specialist hires in Fundraising and Investor Relations functions. Similarly, how much market penetration can realistically be achieved by a more generalist, multiple jurisdiction specialist.
AMC recommended a targeted approach in which a series of jurisdictional, functional and product experience categories were prioritised methodically. This ensured focus, discretion and a religious adherence to the high calibre benchmark required. We successfully delivered a leading European Infrastructure fundraiser, with additional expertise with UK investors, credit structuring and private equity.
