$300m first close for AMP debt fund

AMP Capital, the Australian fund manager, has raised over $300 million at the first close of its second infrastructure debt fund, AMP Capital Infrastructure Debt Fund II (IDF II).

In an official announcement, the firm said it had raised money from 17 institutional investors from Japan, the UK, Korea, Switzerland and Australia.

The fund, which was launched in December 2012, has a final target of $1 billion and will invest in the subordinated debt of infrastructure assets in the water, gas, electricity and transport sectors in Europe, North America and Australia.

The vehicle is the successor to AMP Capital’s debut infrastructure debt fund, which closed to new investment in June last year after raising $503 million from 30 institutional investors.

Andrew Jones, head of infrastructure debt at AMP Capital, said the second fund had completed its first investment in the form of a £50 million (€58 million; $78 million) subordinated loan to Heathrow Airport. In all, the fund is expected to invest in 10 to 15 companies.

While not naming specific investors, AMP Capital says its second fund has attracted “one of the top insurance companies in South Korea” and also its first Swiss client. It pointed out that the fund was being marketed by business partner Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation to its clients and that this had been a “great success”.

AMP Capital has eight infrastructure debt investment professionals based in London, New York and Sydney. Although infrastructure debt funds are a recent phenomenon, the firm has invested more than $1.8 billion in 38 infrastructure debt assets since 2001.