Stafford clocks double-digit discount on infra secondaries as it holds interim close

Stafford Capital Partners has inked the first deal from its latest secondaries fund focusing on infrastructure as it expands its global presence.

The London-headquartered firm signed the first transaction from its Stafford Infrastructure Secondaries Fund IV at a 14 percent implied discount, sister title Secondaries Investor reported, citing a statement. The vehicle has raised €347 million so far towards a €750 million target.

“We continue to see strong dealflow and after having fully deployed the predecessor fund in late summer,” said William Greene, partner and head of infrastructure at Stafford. The infrastructure secondaries team expects to close “several” opportunities in the first quarter of this year, Greene added.

SISF IV’s first deal was in the fibre sector, the statement noted. The fund will target core infrastructure investments via secondaries in Europe, the US and Australia.

Stafford has also opened an office in Frankfurt – its first in Germany – to better serve its clients in the country, the firm said in a separate statement on Thursday. As part of the opening, the firm has hired Gregor Kirstein to lead the office. Kirstein has represented Stafford as an independent agent over several years.

Average pricing for infrastructure funds was 89.2 percent of net asset value in the three months to end August, according to data from intermediary Setter Capital.

Buyers on average targeted 1.38x returns on infrastructure secondaries deals in the first half of last year, Setter data show.