Biggest deal since listing for JLIF

John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF), which raised £270 million (€306 million; $433 million) when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 2010, has completed its largest acquisition through the purchase of 11 operational and yielding assets from Investors in the Community for circa £123 million.

Investors in the Community is a portfolio of assets managed by Mill Asset Management Group (MAMG), a UK-based special purpose vehicle (SPV) manager of public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

The portfolio, which will continue to be managed by MAMG, comprises stakes in 11 social infrastructure projects in the UK: four schools, four lighting projects, two health projects and one housing project.

They are all fully operational and supported by government-backed, inflation-linked revenue streams, and the average remaining contract life is 20.4 years. Stake sizes range from 33 percent to 100 percent.

In a statement, JLIF said its total number of projects now stands at 49, with an approximate aggregate valuation of £697.8 million.

JLIF was initially formed to buy assets from UK developer John Laing, and had a “first offer” agreement with John Laing with respect to future deal opportunities. However, following the latest acquisition, JLIF’s Andrew Charlesworth pointed out that more than 70 percent of the firm’s acquisitions by value have been outside the John Laing agreement.

In October last year, JLIF did turn to its parent when acquiring three assets from John Laing for £71.3 million. A new share issue raised proceeds of £60.4 million to assist the acquisition.