UK-listed GCP hits hard-cap in first post-Brexit fundraise

GCP Infrastructure Investments, a UK-listed fund, has raised £75 million (€97 million; $88 million) through a placing on the London Stock Exchange.

The infrastructure debt-focused outfit initially targeted £35 million for the fundraise, with the possibility to collect up to £50 million. Last Thursday, citing additional investment opportunities, it upped the placing’s target to up to £50 million, with the potential to increase the raise to a maximum of £75 million.

In a statement, GCP described the placing as “the first material issue of shares by an issuer traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since the UK’s referendum on its EU membership”.

Stephen Ellis, a partner at GCP, told Infrastructure Investor that the placing was significantly oversubscribed, demonstrating investors’ appetite for “dependable income producers” in a period of market volatility and depressed interest rates.

He said the proceeds would go towards funding transactions in GCP’s preferred sectors, which include PFI, renewables and social housing. Some capital will also go towards repaying part of the fund’s revolving credit facility, UK broker Numis Securities commented.

The new shares priced at 116.5p, a slight discount to Friday’s closing price at 117p, but an 8.3 percent premium to the NAV at end June. Ellis expected the proceeds to be fully invested “in a matter of weeks”.

As at 31 March, GCP was invested in a portfolio of 42 infrastructure loans valued at £687.4 million, with an average life of 14 years and an annualised yield of 8.9 percent.