John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) is declaring its “first full year of trading” as a public entity a success, citing faster than anticipated growth and a “strong pipeline” from parent company, the UK developer John Laing Group.
JLIF – established in late 2010 and run by John Laing Capital Management – grew its underlying portfolio value 9.2 percent, the fund said, crediting “positive impact” via inflation and noting £109.5 million ($174 million; €132 million) worth of acquisition activity.
The fund touted its fundraising, amounting to £157 million in new capital, which it used to acquire interests in 33 private finance initiative (PFI) schemes and public-private partnerships (PPPs). At inception, the fund had £270 million in capital.
JLIF has recorded £23.4 million in pre-tax profit and is “in line” to deliver an internal rate of return of between 7 percent and 8 percent.
John Laing chief executive Paul Lester noted JLIF paid its first ever dividend in April.
“Combined with resilient capital growth [JLIF] has delivered a total shareholder return of 12.1 percent for the 13-month period since launch,” Lester explained.
JLIF became a publicly-traded entity in December 2011, listing on the FTSE 250 index.
Robust year for John Laing fund
Better than expected portfolio growth propelled John Laing Infrastructure Fund to success in its first year as a publicly-traded business. The fund garnered an additional £157m in capital.