Fundraising

Dalmore almost doubles target with $1.2bn fund close

The fund has made seven investments, excluding a $1.9bn move for JLIF, after roughly 18 months on the road.

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UK-based fund manager Dalmore Capital has secured a £950 million ($1.2 billion; €1.1 billion) close on its Dalmore Capital 3 fund, almost doubling its initial target.

The fund was launched towards the beginning of last year with a target of £500 million and a hard-cap of £750 million, although it is believed to have later been increased. The vehicle has a 15-year term and targets net returns of between 8 and 10 percent.

Investors include the UK-based Strathclyde Pension Fund, which confirmed a £50 million commitment last December, and Derbyshire County Council Pension Fund, as well as the pension schemes of Marks and Spencer and Akzo Nobel, and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme, according to Companies House.

Dalmore Capital 3 also received support from Germany-based insurance company Volkswohl Bund and South Korea-based Hanwha Asset Management.

The fund has made seven investments to date, excluding its joint effort with compatriot Equitix to buy John Laing Infrastructure Fund for a total of £1.45 billion. Other deals include a £1.5 billion move alongside Fiera Infrastructure, Semperian PPP and Swiss Life for waste firm Cory Riverside and a £580 million acquisition of a 15 percent stake in Anglian Water with GLIL Infrastructure. The fund was over 50 percent invested following its last transaction with Pensions Infrastructure Platform to acquire a 49 percent interest in 24 wind farms from EDF.

Dalmore Capital 3 has a mandate allowing up to 20 percent of the fund to be invested in Europe excluding the UK, although this option is unlikely to be taken up. Separately, the firm has also been confirmed to be in talks with EDF about a potential investment in future nuclear sites in the UK.

Prior to raising Dalmore Capital 3, the group had taken minority stakes in large-scale UK investments, such as Thames Tideway and Cadent Gas. It has also raised £248.6 million for its first fund in 2012 before managing a £534.4 million vehicle for the Pensions Infrastructure Platform in 2014.