GIP III saves H1 fundraising from five-year low

This is either the best half-yearly fundraising performance on record or the worst since 2012, with the outcome entirely dependent on the inclusion of Global Infrastructure Partners’ record-breaking $15.8 billion third fund, the largest infrastructure fund ever raised.

Since Infrastructure Investor includes funds by date closed in our half-yearly fundraising data, the first half of 2017, with its $36.16 billion raised for unlisted infrastructure, is officially the best half-yearly performance ever, easily besting the $26.17 billion raised during H1 2015, the previous peak.

But take away GIP III's final close, which we reported on in late January, and the amount raised this first half drops precipitously to $20.36 billion. To find a worse H1, you have to go back to 2012, when only $16.94 billion was raised for unlisted infrastructure, though last year came close at $20.7 billion. A similar story played out last year, when the $14 billion Brookfield Infrastructure III propelled H2 2016 to $36.5 billion raised, the best-ever second-half performance.

GIP III’s outsized influence can be seen when compared to the other funds that reached a final close during this first half of the year. The second-biggest close – EQT Infrastructure III – was already on a distant €4 billion, with Actis Energy IV the third-largest at $2.75 billion, followed by QIC’s Global Infrastructure Fund at A$2.35 billion ($1.8 billion; €1.6 billion). iCON’s fourth infrastructure fund, closed only last week, rounded off the top five at €1.2 billion.

The result highlights the impact ‘mega-funds’ like GIP III and BIF III are having on the fundraising market and speaks to ongoing consolidation in the industry, where marquee GPs are able to attract record amounts of capital.
  
Watch out for a fuller analysis of our H1 data, to be officially published by the end of the month (numbers may vary slightly between now and publication).