From emergence to expansion
Infrastructure debt has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade. Regulatory reforms and the pullback of banks have seen private debt managers look to plug the gap by providing tailored loans for greenfield developments, brownfield assets, renewable energy projects and digital infrastructure.
INSIDE THE REPORT
Key takeaways from our 2026 Debt report
Infrastructure lending goes from strength to strength as structural, long-term shifts boost demand.
Barings on how the new infrastructure debt era is taking shape
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
Crédit Agricole CIB on the growing allure of core-plus
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
Citco on leaving legacy systems behind
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
Schroders Capital on the evolution of infrastructure debt
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
IFM Investors: Infrastructure debt showcases its resiliency
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
Macquarie Asset Management: A golden age for infrastructure debt?
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
Infranity on debt’s journey from niche strategy to core allocation
Our Infrastructure Investor Debt report finds an asset class that has evolved from a niche financing tool into a significant asset class over the past decade.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
It has been a gloomy past 12 months for infra credit fundraising. But the longer-term outlook appears much brighter with the asset class ready to move from niche to mainstream as more investors spot the strategy’s performance potential and key role in financing the world’s climate ambitions.
Infrastructure debt is a market on the move, with funds and managers working to finance the global energy transition. The Infrastructure Investor Debt 30 covers the largest fundraisers in this resilient asset class, ranking the credit firms that contributed to fundraising totals surpassing $172 billion over the last five years across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific markets.
Three key trends from our 2024 debt report
Big opportunities await Infrastructure debt as the sector proves resilient.
Infrastructure Investor Debt 30: The biggest and the best
Credit fundraising surpasses $172bn as tailwinds point to more optimism.
Infrastructure Investor Debt 30 2024
Our latest ranking of the top fundraisers in the infrastructure debt market
Infrastructure Investor Debt 30 2024: Ranking 11-20
From Munich to Melbourne, the firms 11-20 in our ranking collectively raised over $40bn of infrastructure debt capital
Infrastructure Investor Debt 30 2024: Ranking 21-30
Firms needed to raise over $1.5bn to rank in this year's top 30 list of infrastructure debt fundraisers
Seizing the green opportunity at scale
The energy transition represents a sizable opportunity for private investors, but support is needed across markets if global goals are to be achieved.
Infrastructure debt roundtable: Changing of the guard
Flexible dealmaking in a downturn and deep sector knowledge mean private lenders are capturing market share, a group of infrastructure debt professionals tell us.
Ares Management: Mega-trends drive infrastructure debt
Times are changing and strategies need to evolve too, says Ares’ Patrick Trears.
Denham Capital: Reaching escape velocity
The next decade of infrastructure debt promises to deliver new opportunities for investors around digitalisation and the energy transition, says Denham Sustainable Infrastructure’s Jorge Camiña.
Infrastructure debt a hedge against refi wave
The sector isn’t immune to the turmoil in the wider market, but it does offer protection for investors.
LPs set their sights on infra debt
Investors are increasingly bullish on infrastructure debt and secondaries.
Essential asset class faces an urgent challenge, says BNP Paribas
Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a critical moment in the discussion, say BNP Paribas Asset Management’s Stéphanie Passet and Vincent Guillaume.
Barings: Strong tailwinds keep infrastructure debt on course
Interest rate hikes may have upset global markets, but infrastructure debt has been remarkably resilient, says Barings’ Pieter Welman.
Schroders Capital on what the future holds for infrastructure debt
Schroders Capital’s Jerome Neyroud discusses the state of the market today and looks at trends that will drive activity in the years ahead.
On the minds of the infrastructure debt experts
The resiliency of infrastructure debt and growing demand drivers are leading to the sector’s golden age, according to our panel.
The stars align for infrastructure debt
Rising interest rates have boosted returns, while a focus on global megatrends has bolstered deployment in an otherwise insipid M&A landscape.
Kommunalkredit: A year of transition ahead for infrastructure debt
Uncertainty remains the biggest challenge for businesses in infrastructure and energy financing, but opportunity abounds, says Kommunalkredit’s Bernd Fislage.
QIC: Green energy finance: many opportunities, but few lenders
The energy transition is a factor in everything QIC’s direct lending platform touches, says Evan Nahnsen.
UBS Asset Management on diversity in debt deals
Diversification is key as global and macroeconomic trends continue to boost returns across the infrastructure debt market, says Viktor Kozel at UBS Asset Management.
Generali Investments on a new era in infrastructure debt
Unprecedented returns have opened the market to a whole new set of investors, says Infranity’s Gilles Lengaigne.
Rolling out the infrastructure tech revolution
The technological revolution in digital infrastructure provides considerable opportunities for investors, reports Christopher Walker.
Nuveen: Mind the economic gap
Despite a volatile economic environment, infrastructure debt allows investors to find opportunity in the gaps, says Nuveen’s Don Dimitrievich.
Energy Capital Partners: Driving decarbonisation outcomes in infra credit
Finding the right niche in private credit for sustainable, infra-centric investments starts by assessing the fundamental business model, explain ECP ForeStar’s Jennifer Powers and Reiner Boehning.
Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management: Debt is a compelling proposition
Impact, resilience, returns and the ability to finance the energy transition are all good reasons for investors to support infrastructure debt, says Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management’s Jean-Francis Dusch.
Debt fund managers are capitalising on strong interest in the asset class. The top 30 firms listed in Infrastructure Investor’s latest debt fund ranking have raised more than $162 billion over the last five years, with more to come as investors turn to the safe, stable, long-term returns that infrastructure debt offers.
The key themes – and full debt fund manager ranking – are covered in the latest Infrastructure Investor Debt report.
The private infrastructure debt market has grown markedly since we first ranked the top 10 capital collectors in the space in 2019. Despite the challenges of a pandemic, the investment ecosystem has continued to thrive, and so we have widened our focus to include 30 firms.
Despite all 2020’s troubles, infrastructure debt has welcomed five new billion-dollar fundraisers. Ten new funds passed the billion-dollar fundraising mark over the past two years.
With low-for-long interest rates and a macroeconomic environment that continues to be challenged by covid-19, it is more than likely the sector will attract capital from investors who appreciate its resilience and strong financial structures. The third annual Infrastructure Investor Debt Report explores these and more.
Infrastructure debt has witnessed significant growth in recent years. So much so that we have added another five positions to our annual ranking of the top debt fundraisers to create the Infrastructure Debt 15. With growth comes maturity and scrutiny, as our special report on the sector reveals. And, as our contributors unanimously agree, there is still room for further expansion.
While infrastructure debt comes in many forms, finding the perfect combination of secured returns, a visible investment pipeline and a sustainable investment strategy remains at the heart of the market’s challenge.
Current fundraising woes belie infrastructure debt’s long-term appeal and scope for growth
Despite a tumultuous year of investment, 2025 looks hopeful for infrastructure debt funds
Ares Management on the exciting combination that makes infrastructure debt so enticing to investors
The opportunity for stable cash yields, attractive risk-adjusted returns and greater diversification away from corporate credit makes infrastructure debt appealing to investors, say Ares Management’s Patrick Trears and Roopa Murthy.
I Squared Capital on where mega-trends collide
I Squared Capital’s David Rosenblum believes there is a huge opportunity to deploy infrastructure debt at the intersection of digitalisation and power.
Infra credit consolidates its role as a growing sector
Alastair O’Dell considers how the sector is evolving and discovers a growing appetite for sub-investment grade debt.
Qualitas Energy on propelling Europe’s energy transition
There is a growing need for debt financing to deliver the region’s future power demands, security of supply agendas and decarbonisation goals, say Qualitas Energy’s José María Arzac and Severin Hiller.
Refinancing ageing renewables
Bluefield Partners’ investment manager, Manuel Ortiz-Olave, on the unique challenges renewables present and how asset owners can best prepare to engage with new lender prospects
Brookfield on the twin forces driving infrastructure debt demand
The expanding renewable energy and digital markets are dominating dealflow, but traditional sectors more heavily reliant on sales and purchases are picking up after a quiet few years, say Brookfield’s Ian Simes and Hadley Peer Marshall.
How infra debt can help the transition to decarbonisation
As financial incentives and policies emerge to reduce barriers to industrial decarbonisation through carbon capture or hydrogen, more bespoke finance solutions, including private debt, are needed
to support it
LBP AM European Private Markets: Ensuring European competitiveness in a global asset class
Infrastructure credit has a crucial role to play in building strength and resilience in the EU economy, say LBP AM European Private Markets’ Bérénice Arbona, Jean-Marie Tassel and Tuan Au-Quang.
Infrastructure debt fails to ignite in 2024
Infrastructure debt failed to sustain the fundraising uptick registered in 2023, instead recording the lowest tally of the past six years
Seniority matters when it comes to infra debt, according to IFM Investors
The only way to truly benefit from infra debt’s defensive attributes is to focus on senior secured positions, says IFM Investors’ Rich Randall
The future lies in long-term vehicles
The retailisation of private markets appears to be gathered speed in 2024 as major regulatory changes help widen access to products traditionally dominated by institutional investors.
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