Golding hits €215m first close on latest fund of funds – exclusive

German asset manager Golding Capital Partners has reached a first close of €215 million on its third infrastructure fund of funds strategy.

The group began fundraising for Golding Infrastructure 2018 earlier this year, with the vehicle targeting €750 million in commitments. As with previous instalments of the fund, it has a 7 to 8 percent net IRR target.

The first close commitments have been secured from 20 institutional investors, with about 80 percent of the investors present in Golding’s previous funds.

The strategy aims to make investments in about 15 infrastructure funds, targeting the energy, transport, utilities and social infrastructure sectors across Europe and North America. It has made three investments to date.

“The current environment calls for know-how and market access,” Jeremy Golding, founder of GCP, said in a statement. “Despite tough competition and the enormous value of investment surging into the capital markets, Golding has been able to secure attractive investments – including primaries and complex structured secondaries, as well as co-investments.”

The new fund follows the close of the previous vehicle – Golding Infrastructure 2016 – on €750 million in February, exceeding its €600 million target. The vehicle is an LP in funds including EQT Infrastructure III and Infracapital Greenfield Partners, with EQT’s vehicle thought to be generating an IRR of between 20 and 25 percent. Golding has invested about €800 million in infrastructure in 2018, it said.

The firm underwent a slight structural change earlier this year. Matthias Reicherter, who had led the infrastructure business since October 2011, became chief investment officer of the firm overall. He was replaced by Fabian Pötter and Bernd Schumacher, who became co-heads of infrastructure.