The product will invest in Europe and OECD infrastructure equity and debt
Patrizia Infrastructure, part of German asset manager Patrizia AG, and Universal Investment, a platform for funds services, launched Patrizia Infrastructure Invest, an ELTIF for retail and professional investors that will focus on Europe and OECD infrastructure equity and debt either directly or through vertical funds (press release).
Patrizia Infrastructure Invest has the structure of an evergreen-term Luxembourg SICAV-SCA and is compliant with Article 8 SFDR. The vehicle will target assets stable and predictable cash flows, employing active asset management and dynamic asset allocation to achieve the fund’s objectives of a total return on investment of 8% and a continuous distribution of above 4%.
The ELTIF will focus on infrastructure assets looking at key global megatrends such as digital transformation, hence investment in connectivity, IoT and smart cities; urban change; energy transition, hence decarbonisation and circular economy; housing transition, to address the challenges of demographic change and social infrastructure.
Sebastian Baer, Patrizia Head Wealth Solutions International, said: “With our first ELTIF we make our deep infrastructure expertise accessible to private and (semi-)professional investors through asset intermediaries. The combination of infrastructure equities and debt with an asset allocation overlay and our proven track record are key differentiators. This solution complements our range of products and tailor-made solutions for private assets”.
Graham Matthews, Patrizia co-head of Fund Management & head of Fund Management Infrastructure, added: “Infrastructure is an attractive opportunity for long-term portfolios, as it offers stability and diversification. At Patrizia, we specialise in mid-capitalisation infrastructure investments and this ELTIF will allow private investors to access the same high-quality assets as our institutional clients”.
Marcus Kuntz, Universal Investment Group Group Head of Sales, said: “We are proud to support Patrizia in making alternative investments more accessible. With over 20 years of experience in alternative investments and 50 years in fund distribution, we see great potential in bringing Patrizia Infrastructure Invest to a broader investor base.”.
Patrizia has been operating in the infrastructure sector for over 26 years, with more than 130 individual investments and 10 billion invested globally. Historical returns include an average realised gross IRR of 13.4% for equity investments (since 2004) and 7.4% for infrastructure debt (since 2000).
The expansion into infrastructure for private investors is in line with Patrizia’s broader growth strategy, which aims to increase assets under management to EUR 100bn by 2030, with infrastructure playing a key role.
Wolfgang Egger, a real estate prodigy that built and sold his first house when he was 19 and when he was 22 was dealing in 100 apartments per year, created Munich – based Patrizia AG in 1984. The firm developed its business in all classic real estate investment directories, from offices to logistics, where it now manages 85% of a global portfolio 60 billion euros worth. Patrizia invested 9.7 billion in infrastructures. The business started growing after Patrizia acquired Whitehelm Capital in September 2021. The target was a specialised investor with 25 years of experience in this asset class. Before closing such a transaction, Patrizia managed just over 1.5 billion in infrastructure, but Whitehelm’s entry into the group took the portfolio value to 5 billion and it has almost doubled since then.
In Italy, Patrizia carried on investments worth in the region of 600 million in different infrastructure assets, as Matteo Andreoletti, Patrizia Infrastructure Head of Investments for Europe and North America, told last May to BeBeez Magazine. At the end of 2021, Patrizia acquired Ecotermica Servizi, which owns a few district heating and heat cogeneration networks in the province of Turin and later expanded to biomethane for automotive use, with the buy of Biomet that has a plant for the production of biomethane from wet waste delivered by municipalities and the largest biofuel liquefaction plant. Patrizia also made buys in the sector of public lighting as it purchased staked in Ottima (Ascoli), Selettra (Potenza) and Atlantico (Chioggia). Patrizia also acquired a minority of Greenthesis, an Italian waste management group that delisted from Milan market with a public offer with the Grossi Family.
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