Barclays fund in third Italian deal

Barclays Infrastructure Fund II has bought a 51% stake in a PPP hospital near Milan.

Barclays European Infrastructure Fund II (BEIFII), an infrastructure vehicle managed by Barclays Infrastructure Funds, has just bought a majority stake in an Italian hospital public-private partnership (PPP). 

The deal, closed for an undisclosed amount, marks BIFII’s third investment in Italy and will see it take ownership of a 51 percent stake in the Vimercate Salute PPP, a hospital near Milan, in the Lombardy region of Italy. 

The sellers were Italian companies Pessina Costruzioni and INSO. Both will remain minority shareholders in the hospital as part of the facilities management team, Barclays said in a statement. 

The 24-year hospital PPP reached financial close in October 2007 and has been fully operational since 2011. The project involved the design, build, finance and operation of a new €163 million hospital to replace Vimercate’s former hospital. The new hospital has 570 beds and offers a full range of medical services, Barclays said. 

Barclays Infrastructure Funds has been in business since 1996. It has raised more than £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion; $1.8 billion) across six funds and targets investments in social infrastructure and energy projects with a similar risk profile across the UK and continental Europe.