2012 awards: GIP in five-fold success

We always knew it was likely that Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) – the New York-headquartered fund manager – would make a big impression on the Infrastructure Investor awards for 2012. It did so in the form of five accolades.

Having closed the world’s largest ever infrastructure fund on $8.25 billion, GIP picked up the gold medal in the following categories: the global and North American infrastructure fundraisings of the year; global and North American fund manager of the year; and global infrastructure personality of the year for its chairman and managing partner Adebayo Ogunlesi.

Other established names doubled up in categories they had won 12 months previously. For example: Vinci, in the global and European developer categories; Meridiam Infrastructure (European fund manager); HSBC (infrastructure bank in the Middle East); and Allen & Overy (global and North American law firm).

However, there were also notable wins for some relatively low-profile organisations. For example, some might see Gravis Capital Partners as a surprise victor in the European infrastructure fundraising category. But this was a firm that swept past its fundraising target while focusing on the highly specialist area of listed subordinated and senior debt.

Likewise, Evercore Private Funds Group won for the first time in the placement agent category following its blowout success with Equitix, and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners was rewarded for its role in providing equity for the innovative desalination project in San Diego, California, by picking up the North American deal award – no small achievement for a start-up manager.

Another big winner was the awards process itself, with the number of votes cast in 46 different categories more than doubling our previous record. For that, a big thanks to our readers is due. Check out our Annual Review, which is part of our March 2013 issue, for a full round-up of all the results.