News

2012
  • InfraRed Capital Partners lets over 5,000 sqm in The Cologne Tower

    Following the acquisition of the Cologne Tower in Germany (http://www.koelnturm.de) by InfraRed Capital Partners (“InfraRed”) a new 10-year lease has been signed with the German “Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care” (“IQWiG”). IQWIG, which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health, will occupy c.5,500 sqm over six floors in the landmark tower. This letting represents over one fifth of the overall office space and reduces its void to c.17% from c.38% at acquisition.

    InfraRed is also pleased to announce a further letting to consulting company LiNKiT Consulting GmbH that will occupy the 34th floor. Together with two further lease extensions InfraRed has achieved c.8000sqm of lettings since the acquisition of the Tower. All lettings were in line with market rents (ERV).

    InfraRed acquired the Tower in October 2011 in a joint venture with the German real estate company Art-Invest Real Estate. The asset encompasses a 43-storey tower built in 2001 (designed by Jean Nouvel) comprising 26,500 sqm of office space and the adjacent 220-bedroom 4-star NH Hotel. The buildings are located in the Cologne ‘Media Park’ within the core of the City.

    Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest city with a large and growing population of over one million. The diversity of its industries which include trade, insurance, media, chemicals as well as government is a key attraction for real estate investment.

    Joram Szerkowski, responsible for real estate deal origination in Germany at InfraRed, commented, “The early letting to IQWiG has been key in providing strong, timely proof of the substantial value-add potential we identified in the Cologne Tower. Together with the other early lettings we have significantly reduced the risk profile of this asset within only a short time period after the acquisition and look forward to continuing this positive and dynamic trend”.

    END.

    Contact InfraRed:

    Tulchan Communications
    Ed Orlebar/Rebecca Scott+44(0)20 73534200
    E-Mail: eorlebar@tulchangroup.com/rscott@tulchangroup.com

    Notes to Editors

    InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd (“InfraRed”) (www.ircp.com)

    InfraRed is an independent investment firm specialising in the infrastructure and real estate asset classes. It invests in projects seeking to add value through active management. InfraRed manages in excess of $5bn of equity capital in specialist funds that invest into real estate and infrastructure assets which InfraRed develops and operates across the globe. Its approximately 80 staff are deployed across offices in London, Hong Kong, New York and Paris.

    InfraRed’s European real estate team focuses primarily on value-added real estate projects in target countries throughout Europe. Focus sectors are retail, industrial and offices. The U.K. and Germany are core markets for the team’s investment activity.

    Following the completion of a spin-out from HSBC in April 2011 the business is owned by its management team with HSBC remaining a significant minority shareholder. Since business inception over 15 years ago the team has launched 11 funds, six of which have been completely or materially realised. The business also listed an infrastructure investment company (HICL.L) on the London Stock Exchange. InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, is the manager of InfraRed’s funds.

    Art-Invest Real Estate

    Art-Invest Real Estate is a property investment-, development- and asset management company based in Cologne. It invests alongside a select group of institutional investors and family offices. Art-Invest Real Estate pursues a consistent ‘manage to core’ strategy, focusing on the repositioning of well-located commercial real estate in major German cities with upside potential. Art-Invest Real Estate creates value by identifying alternative uses, improving the marketability or developing, thus creating high quality, investment grade assets.

  • HICL C Share issue: Offer target exceeded

    The Board of HICL Infrastructure Company Limited (“HICL”) is pleased to announce that the Placing, Open Offer and Offer for Subscription of C Shares (the ‘Issue’) has now closed and that, on the basis of applications received through the Open Offer and Offer for Subscription and of orders taken through the Placing, both the Issue’s target size of £180m and its maximum size of £250m have been exceeded.

    In accordance with the terms and conditions of the Issue, all applications made pursuant to Open Offer entitlements will be met in full. The Board is, in conjunction with its advisers, considering the basis upon which applications made pursuant to the Placing, the Offer for Subscription and (to the extent it is relevant) the Excess Application Facility should be scaled back.

    As part of that process, the Board has consulted with the Investment Adviser, InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, to ascertain whether and to what extent Additional Investments would allow the size of the Issue to be increased. As a result, the Board, in consultation with Canaccord Genuity, has decided to increase the overall size of the Issue to £250m.

    A further announcement providing details of the basis upon which C Shares will be allotted will be made on Wednesday, 28 March 2012.

    Graham Picken, Chairman of HICL, said:

    “We are delighted with the success of the offer which was significantly oversubscribed. In light of the current pipeline of advanced-stage acquisition opportunities, the Board is pleased to confirm the size of the Issue at £250m. We regard this successful capital raising as an endorsement of the Company’s strategy and track record of successful delivery. The strong demand also reflects the growing importance of infrastructure as an asset class”.

    For further information, please contact:

    InfraRed Capital Partners Limited
    Tony Roper
    Keith Pickard
    David Foot
    Erwan Fournis+44 (0) 20 7484 1800

    Canaccord Genuity Limited
    David Yovichic
    Lucy Lewis
    Robbie Robertson +44 (0) 20 7523 8000

    Tulchan Communications
    Ed Orlebar+44 (0) 20 7353 4200

    Dexion Capital (Guernsey) Limited
    Gillian Newton+44 (0) 1481 732814

    Terms in this announcement shall have the same meaning as defined in the prospectus issued by HICL dated 29 February 2012.

    Canaccord Genuity Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for the Company and for no one else in connection with the Issue and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Canaccord Genuity Limited or for affording advice in relation to the Issue, or any other matters referred to herein.

  • InfraRed Capital Partners acquires the St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool

    InfraRed Capital Partners has exchanged contracts to acquire the St Johns Centre in Liverpool from Land Securities.

    St Johns is the largest covered shopping centre in Liverpool, covering 413,000 sq ft, with a 625 space car park and a 149 room hotel. Ideally located in the city centre, St Johns has over 100 retail units. Its tenants include a number of well-known retailers such as Argos, New Look, Wilkinson, Poundland and JJB Sports.

    Liverpool is the fifth largest retail market in the U.K. according to specialist marketing firm CACI. With an overall catchment of 4.7 million people and an annual footfall of c.12 million people, the St Johns Centre is the dominant centre in Liverpool’s value retail segment.

    InfraRed has been a long-standing investor in U.K. shopping centres having managed three specialist shopping centre funds between 1998 and 2006. In 2011 the firm acquired The Galleries in Bristol.

    Chris Huxtable, Director at InfraRed Capital Partners, said, “Value-added shopping centre investment is a core competence of InfraRed, hence we are very enthusiastic and excited about investing into the St Johns Centre. We see many U.K. retailers consolidating their footprint into centres that combine high footfall with affordable rents and adequate store sizes. The St John’s centre has the capacity to offer all these features, and we intend to capitalise on this with substantial new investment”.

    InfraRed has appointed the Hark Group as asset managers and Munroe K Asset Management as property managers.

    DTZ advised InfraRed Capital Partners on this acquisition.

    END

    Contact

    Tulchan Communications
    Ed Orlebar+44 (0) 207 353 4200
    Rebecca Scott

    Notes to Editors

    InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd (www.ircp.com)

    InfraRed is an independent investment firm specialising in the infrastructure and real estate asset classes. It invests in projects seeking to add value through active management. InfraRed manages in excess of $5bn of equity capital in specialist funds that invest into real estate and infrastructure assets which InfraRed develops and operates across the globe. Its 80 staff are deployed across offices in London, Hong Kong, New York and Paris.

    InfraRed has been an active real estate investor and manager for 20 years. The business started its trajectory as a value-added investor and mezzanine lender in U.K. commercial real estate in the early 1990s. Since then, it has raised a number of specialist funds including a series of value-added shopping centre funds. The European real estate team focuses primarily on value-added real estate projects in target countries throughout Europe. Target sectors are retail, industrial and offices. The U.K. is one of the core markets for the team’s investment activity.

    Following the completion of a spin-out from HSBC in April 2011 the business is owned by its management team with HSBC remaining a significant minority shareholder. Since business inception over 15 years ago the team has launched 11 funds, six of which have been completely or materially realised, and listed an infrastructure investment company (HICL.L) on the London Stock Exchange. InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, is the manager of InfraRed’s funds.

  • HICL announces C Share issue

    The Board of HICL Infrastructure Company Limited (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it intends to proceed with a Placing, Open Offer and Offer for Subscription of C Shares during the first quarter of this year. In the Company’s interim results statement of 16th November 2011, it was noted that the Company would consider undertaking a formal equity fundraising to pay down the Group’s £200 million revolving debt facility as and when a material portion of such facility had been employed. The Company subsequently acquired 26 PFI/PPP projects in December 2011 for a total gross consideration of approximately £143.4 million.

    Further details as to the precise timing and quantum of the Issue will be announced in due course. For indicative purposes, however, it is envisaged that a prospectus will be published in February and that the C Shares will be issued and commence trading in March; conversion of the C Shares into Ordinary Shares will then follow in April. In terms of the size of the Issue, the Board will continue to observe the policy that the Company should not be cash positive to any material extent, and accordingly the Issue will be limited in size to the aggregate of (i) the Group’s current funding requirements which stand at £135m and (ii) the consideration payable for any further investments made or expected to be made by the Group (whether on a conditional or unconditional basis) on or before 30 April 2012 in which regard negotiations are at an advanced stage.

    Following the issue of new Ordinary Shares announced last week, the Company’s ability to issue shares by way of a ‘tap’ issue has for practical purposes been fully utilised for the time being. Accordingly no further share capital will be issued by the Company prior to the C Share Issue.

    A further announcement giving full details of the Issue will be made at the time of publication of the prospectus.

    Enquiries:

    InfraRed Capital Partners Limited (020 7484 1800)
    Tony Roper
    Keith Pickard
    Erwan Fournis
    David Foot

    Collins Stewart Europe Limited
    Sales Enquiries
    Dominic Waters (020 7523 8473)
    Neil Brierley (020 7523 8478)
    Will Barnett (020 7523 8094)
    Robbie Robertson (020 7523 8474)
    Gavin Tooke (020 7523 8470)
    Corporate Enquiries
    David Yovichic (020 7523 8361)

    Tulchan Communications (020 7353 4200)
    Ed Orlebar
    Rebecca Scott

    HICL Infrastructure Company Limited

    The Company is a long term investor in infrastructure projects which are predominantly in their operating phase and yielding steady returns. It was the first infrastructure investment company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. It now owns a portfolio of 70 infrastructure investments, all of which are PFI/PPP/P3 projects, and is seeking further suitable investment opportunities which fit its stated Investment Strategy. Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.hicl.com.

    END.

Business Spotlight

Business Spotlight
European Real Estate

InfraRed has been an active investor and manager in real estate for 20 years. The business started as a value-added investor and mezzanine lender.

Case Study

Kicking Horse Canyon
Kicking Horse Canyon

Develop, finance, build and maintain the Kicking Horse Canyon P3 project in British Columbia. The project forms part of the Trans-Canada Highway extending through the Canadian Rocky Mountains.