Our highly-resources global infrastructure team seeks out compelling investments across infrastructure markets - each designed to deliver attractive, stable and more predictable long-term returns.
We have a large and experienced team of infrastructure specialists. The team is well placed to leverage its extensive networks and deep research capabilities to source attractive investments across economic and concession infrastructure markets, creating positive outcomes for our clients.
Through our infrastructure equity offering, we give our clients the opportunity to invest directly in economic and concession infrastructure assets that provide essential public services and that generate economic growth. These assets can provide attractive, stable and more predictable long-term returns given their importance in a functioning society.
A 20-year track record of investing and asset management, predominately in long-term government contracts and social and economic infrastructure projects.
We are part of the Aberdeen Standard Investments brand which manages more than £18.8bn/€21.0bn/$22.4bn of assets across private markets. This makes us part of one of the largest private markets investors in the world. In total, over £5.1bn/€5.7bn/$3.96bn of infrastructure investments is managed on behalf of investors.*
*Source Aberdeen Standard Investments. As at 31 December 2020.
Established in 1998, our highly experienced team of 34 investment professionals have invested in over 120 infrastructure investments to date (May, 2019). The team is based in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Sydney and Bogota.
Our investor base spans both public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies and family offices across the world.
We focus on availability-based, partially inflation-linked cash flows with little or no correlation to economic cycles. Value resides in the contract, with limited risk associated with residual asset value.
We invest in hospitals, schools, roads, rolling stock, government accommodation, social housing, and waste and water in the UK, Europe, Australia, US, the Middle East and Latin America.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, proposed to improve 26 miles of I-77 from I-277 by introducing High Occupancy Toll lanes.
The proposed I-77 HOT project is a conversion and expansion of the current High Occupancy Vehicle facility that will provide growing communities and congested I-77 traffic with additional capacity
Sector: Transport
Geography: North Carolina
Project Size: US $663m
Paris Justice Court is a PPP contract to design, build finance, maintain and operate a new Justice Court in Paris . The new Justice Court will house 90 courtrooms and is expected to be visited by 8,500 people daily.
The Project Agreement is 32 years, including a 5 year construction period. The term of the operation period is fixed to 27 years.
Sector: Government
Geography: Paris, France
Project Size: €605m
Mundaring Water Treatment Plant is the design, build, finance and operations of a new treatment plant near Perth, Western Australia. The plant will serve the Goldfields Agriculture region and will supply over 100,000 inhabitants with fresh water supply.
The project has been successfully operating since 2013 and we have recently completed the first senior debt refinancing as planned for a further 5 year tenor.
Sector: Water Treatment
Geography: Perth, Australia
Project Size: A$ 400m
The North Carolina Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, proposed to improve 26 miles of I-77 from I-277 by introducing High Occupancy Toll lanes.
The proposed I-77 HOT project is a conversion and expansion of the current High Occupancy Vehicle facility that will provide growing communities and congested I-77 traffic with additional capacity
Sector: Transport
Geography: North Carolina
Project Size: US $663m
Paris Justice Court is a PPP contract to design, build finance, maintain and operate a new Justice Court in Paris . The new Justice Court will house 90 courtrooms and is expected to be visited by 8,500 people daily.
The Project Agreement is 32 years, including a 5 year construction period. The term of the operation period is fixed to 27 years.
Sector: Government
Geography: Paris, France
Project Size: €605m
Mundaring Water Treatment Plant is the design, build, finance and operations of a new treatment plant near Perth, Western Australia. The plant will serve the Goldfields Agriculture region and will supply over 100,000 inhabitants with fresh water supply.
The project has been successfully operating since 2013 and we have recently completed the first senior debt refinancing as planned for a further 5 year tenor.
Sector: Water Treatment
Geography: Perth, Australia
Project Size: A$ 400m
Our economic infrastructure investment philosophy centres on our belief that infrastructure is a long-term asset class capable of delivering attractive, consistent returns to investors.
Our economic infrastructure investment philosophy centres on our belief that infrastructure is a long-term asset class capable of delivering attractive, consistent returns to investors. Our approach is focused on:
Our investor base spans both public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies and family offices across the world.
We invest in operational assets with limited or no construction risk. We target infrastructure investments in Europe which are typically yielding from day one. We are attracted to the following investment characteristics:
In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Nordic Power AS, a portfolio of 13 newly commissioned hydropower plants from Nordkraft, a Norwegian utility controlled by the Narvik Municipality. Since acquisition, we have added an additional two plants to the portfolio, taking the total projected annual output to 160 GWh.
Key attractions:
| Sector | Subsector | Geography | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Hydro | Norway | 100% |
Rock Rail East Anglia PLC
Aquired October 2015. 20x12 carriage electric Stadler trains, 24x4 and 14x3 carriage bi-mode Stadler trains serving the InterCity, Stansted Express and Regional lines of the East Anglia Franchise, operated by Abellio. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 48% |
Rock Rail Moorgate
Aquired February 2016. 25x6 carriage electric Siemens trains, serving Great Northern franchise Moorgate commuter lines, operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 94% |
Rock Rail South Western
Aquired June 2017. and 30x5 carriage electric Bombardier trains, serving key London commuter services on the South Western franchise, operated by First MTR. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 45% |
Rock Rail West Coast
Aquired December 2019. 10x7 carriage electric Hitachi trains and13x5 carriage bi-mode Hitachi trains serving the West Coast Partnership Franchise, operated by First Trenitalia. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 94% |
In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Auris Kaasunjakelu, the largest natural gas distribution pipeline in Finland, from Gasum Oy, a Finnish state controlled company. The pipeline provides local gas distribution to Helsinki and 11 surrounding areas.
Key attractions:
| Sector | Subsector | Geography | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Gas distribution | Finland | 100% |
Aquired September 2017 interest in NGT UJV, and May 2018 stake in NGT B.V.. The NGT system consists of a pipeline and processing system that transports and treats natural gas that is produced in the Dutch Continental Shelf, and consists of:
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Netherlands | 18% / 20% |
Aquired May 2019. Owner and operator of a state-of-the-art liquid bulk storage terminal located on the River Thames Estuary offering c.300,000 m3 tank capacity and unique access to pipeline connections, deep-water jetty and road loading facilities. Oikos currently handles jet fuel and diesel, and is critical to supplying jet fuel to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and diesel to the South East and Midlands of the UK.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | UK | 100% |
Aquired February 2019. Riihimäen Kaukolämpö Oy is the owner and operator of the district heating network in the in the City of Riihimäki and the surrounding areas. Riihimäki is a rapidly expanding “commuter city” located within 100km of Helsinki and Tampere, two of the most economically vibrant regions in Finland. The length of the network is 98.5km across the Riihimäki area and there are currently 739 clients connected to the network.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Finland | 49% |
Aquired May 2019. UNITANK is a market leading independent infrastructure and services provider storing liquid oil products on behalf of strategic storage agencies and Oil & Gas majors. The company owns and operates five terminals in Germany and one terminal in Belgium, all in key strategic locations.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Germany / Belgium | 50% |
Aquired Juy 2019. Loimua primarily owns and operates 640MW of heat production capacity and 16 district heating networks across Central and Southern Finland. The networks cover c.500km and c.4,600 supply points.
Loimua produces DH and electricity, and sells and distributes district heating and natural gas in Häme, Central Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia and Heinola.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Finland | 37.5% |
Aquisition began Q3 2019. 351 MW of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farms spread between seven operational (Aurora I, II & III, Helios I & II, Eos, Ra) or being developed projects by local developers. Construction of first farms completed in mid-2018 with balance coming online by Q1 2021. Revenue underpinned by 15-year guaranteed tariff under Poland’s newly introduced contract for difference regime.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Poland | 100% |
Acquired in November 2020, Airband is a provider of rural connectivity services in the West of England, historically through Fixed Wireless Networks (“FWA”). Since 2018 the business has pivoted towards providing Fibre to the Premises (“FTTP”), driven by UK Government led initiatives including subsidies, to promote significant investment in fibre infrastructure for rural areas and is targeting 675,000 homes passed by 2025.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Telecomms | UK | 27% |
Aquired December 2020, Outokummun Energia primarily owns and operates a regulated electricity distribution network, a district heating network and a small retail business in the City of Outokumpu, in Eastern Finland. The networks cover a combined length of 1,030km and approximately 5,280 electricity distribution and 4,260 energy customers. Additionally, Outokummun Energia owns and operates 50MW of heat production.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Finland | 66% |
In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Nordic Power AS, a portfolio of 13 newly commissioned hydropower plants from Nordkraft, a Norwegian utility controlled by the Narvik Municipality. Since acquisition, we have added an additional two plants to the portfolio, taking the total projected annual output to 160 GWh.
Key attractions:
| Sector | Subsector | Geography | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Hydro | Norway | 100% |
Rock Rail East Anglia PLC
Aquired October 2015. 20x12 carriage electric Stadler trains, 24x4 and 14x3 carriage bi-mode Stadler trains serving the InterCity, Stansted Express and Regional lines of the East Anglia Franchise, operated by Abellio. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 48% |
Rock Rail Moorgate
Aquired February 2016. 25x6 carriage electric Siemens trains, serving Great Northern franchise Moorgate commuter lines, operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 94% |
Rock Rail South Western
Aquired June 2017. and 30x5 carriage electric Bombardier trains, serving key London commuter services on the South Western franchise, operated by First MTR. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 45% |
Rock Rail West Coast
Aquired December 2019. 10x7 carriage electric Hitachi trains and13x5 carriage bi-mode Hitachi trains serving the West Coast Partnership Franchise, operated by First Trenitalia. Long term profile secured through lease arrangements with strong contractual obligations. No volume risk, no financing risk, inflation linkage and yield from day one.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | UK | 94% |
In June 2015, we acquired 100% of Auris Kaasunjakelu, the largest natural gas distribution pipeline in Finland, from Gasum Oy, a Finnish state controlled company. The pipeline provides local gas distribution to Helsinki and 11 surrounding areas.
Key attractions:
| Sector | Subsector | Geography | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Gas distribution | Finland | 100% |
Aquired September 2017 interest in NGT UJV, and May 2018 stake in NGT B.V.. The NGT system consists of a pipeline and processing system that transports and treats natural gas that is produced in the Dutch Continental Shelf, and consists of:
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Netherlands | 18% / 20% |
Aquired May 2019. Owner and operator of a state-of-the-art liquid bulk storage terminal located on the River Thames Estuary offering c.300,000 m3 tank capacity and unique access to pipeline connections, deep-water jetty and road loading facilities. Oikos currently handles jet fuel and diesel, and is critical to supplying jet fuel to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and diesel to the South East and Midlands of the UK.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | UK | 100% |
Aquired February 2019. Riihimäen Kaukolämpö Oy is the owner and operator of the district heating network in the in the City of Riihimäki and the surrounding areas. Riihimäki is a rapidly expanding “commuter city” located within 100km of Helsinki and Tampere, two of the most economically vibrant regions in Finland. The length of the network is 98.5km across the Riihimäki area and there are currently 739 clients connected to the network.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Finland | 49% |
Aquired May 2019. UNITANK is a market leading independent infrastructure and services provider storing liquid oil products on behalf of strategic storage agencies and Oil & Gas majors. The company owns and operates five terminals in Germany and one terminal in Belgium, all in key strategic locations.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Germany / Belgium | 50% |
Aquired Juy 2019. Loimua primarily owns and operates 640MW of heat production capacity and 16 district heating networks across Central and Southern Finland. The networks cover c.500km and c.4,600 supply points.
Loimua produces DH and electricity, and sells and distributes district heating and natural gas in Häme, Central Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia and Heinola.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Finland | 37.5% |
Aquisition began Q3 2019. 351 MW of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic farms spread between seven operational (Aurora I, II & III, Helios I & II, Eos, Ra) or being developed projects by local developers. Construction of first farms completed in mid-2018 with balance coming online by Q1 2021. Revenue underpinned by 15-year guaranteed tariff under Poland’s newly introduced contract for difference regime.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Poland | 100% |
Acquired in November 2020, Airband is a provider of rural connectivity services in the West of England, historically through Fixed Wireless Networks (“FWA”). Since 2018 the business has pivoted towards providing Fibre to the Premises (“FTTP”), driven by UK Government led initiatives including subsidies, to promote significant investment in fibre infrastructure for rural areas and is targeting 675,000 homes passed by 2025.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Telecomms | UK | 27% |
Aquired December 2020, Outokummun Energia primarily owns and operates a regulated electricity distribution network, a district heating network and a small retail business in the City of Outokumpu, in Eastern Finland. The networks cover a combined length of 1,030km and approximately 5,280 electricity distribution and 4,260 energy customers. Additionally, Outokummun Energia owns and operates 50MW of heat production.
| Sector | Location | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Finland | 66% |
Dominic heads up the Core Infrastructure team at Aberdeen Standard Investments. He has over 20 years’ experience in the infrastructure sector combining extensive mergers and acquisitions experience with asset management expertise. Dominic spent 12 years with BAA plc where he headed their international acquisitions group and oversaw the acquisition and management of a number of overseas investments. Dominic then spent eight years in the fund management industry, initially with Babcock and Brown, as part of the European Infrastructure team that raised a €2.2bn infrastructure fund, and then as a Partner with Arcus Infrastructure Partners, which completed an MBO from Babcock and Brown in 2009.
Gershon Cohen is Global Head of Infrastructure Funds, Aberdeen Standard Investments. Gershon’s platform has USD$3bn of institutional capital under management and consists of 7 unlisted funds and associated investment vehicles invested in over 120 greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects. He is responsible for the management, leadership and development of the concessions infrastructure strategy for Aberdeen Standard Investments and is a fund principal and chair of investment and associated committees of the platform. The platform operates from offices in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Sydney, Bogota and Bahrain with a team of 32 professional investors and other joint venture partners.
Previously Gershon held the position of CEO SWIP Infrastructure Funds & CEO Lloyds Bank Project Finance Equity and Funds, which involved the origination, investment and management of all infrastructure equity products across the UK, Europe, Australia and Americas. Prior to this, Gershon was Global Head of Lloyds Bank Project Finance. Gershon has played a pivotal role in structuring, arranging and providing innovative funding solutions to a range of ground-breaking PFI/PPP/P3 projects in healthcare, transport, wastewater and education over the last 20 years. Gershon led the fundraising efforts for the current platform. He sits and advises on many trade and governmental committees on infrastructure investment matters; has presented at numerous conferences and seminars; and has written a number of articles on PPP/P3.
Head of Core Infrastructure
Dominic heads up the Core Infrastructure team at Aberdeen Standard Investments. He has over 20 years’ experience in the infrastructure sector combining extensive mergers and acquisitions experience with asset management expertise. Dominic spent 12 years with BAA plc where he headed their international acquisitions group and oversaw the acquisition and management of a number of overseas investments. Dominic then spent eight years in the fund management industry, initially with Babcock and Brown, as part of the European Infrastructure team that raised a €2.2bn infrastructure fund, and then as a Partner with Arcus Infrastructure Partners, which completed an MBO from Babcock and Brown in 2009.
Global Head of Infrastructure Funds
Gershon Cohen is Global Head of Infrastructure Funds, Aberdeen Standard Investments. Gershon’s platform has USD$3bn of institutional capital under management and consists of 7 unlisted funds and associated investment vehicles invested in over 120 greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects. He is responsible for the management, leadership and development of the concessions infrastructure strategy for Aberdeen Standard Investments and is a fund principal and chair of investment and associated committees of the platform. The platform operates from offices in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Sydney, Bogota and Bahrain with a team of 32 professional investors and other joint venture partners.
Previously Gershon held the position of CEO SWIP Infrastructure Funds & CEO Lloyds Bank Project Finance Equity and Funds, which involved the origination, investment and management of all infrastructure equity products across the UK, Europe, Australia and Americas. Prior to this, Gershon was Global Head of Lloyds Bank Project Finance. Gershon has played a pivotal role in structuring, arranging and providing innovative funding solutions to a range of ground-breaking PFI/PPP/P3 projects in healthcare, transport, wastewater and education over the last 20 years. Gershon led the fundraising efforts for the current platform. He sits and advises on many trade and governmental committees on infrastructure investment matters; has presented at numerous conferences and seminars; and has written a number of articles on PPP/P3.