Several closings at year-end confirm the dynamic performance of Golding Capital Partners (GCP). In the infrastructure asset class the investment programme ‘Golding Infrastructure 2016’ held its final close at a record volume of €750 million in autumn 2017. The newly launched multi-manager, co-investment concept ‘Golding Infrastructure Co-Investment 2016’ had already received commitments of €206 million at its first closing in autumn 2017. In the buyout asset class, the diversified investment programme ‘Golding Buyout 2015’ was supported by strong demand and held its final close at the end of the year at €364 million.
Final closing of ‘Golding Buyout 2015’
Around 80 per cent of the total volume of €364 million for the ‘Golding Buyout 2015’ programme came from existing investors. GCP sees this as a clear evidence of investors’ satisfaction with their investment returns and GCP’s service-oriented approach. Insurance companies and pension funds, as well as banks and foundations, exploited the fund to gain broad market access, diversified across Europe and North America and focussed on the higher return potential of small and mid-cap buyout transactions. “Our choice of primaries, secondaries and co-investments in the buyout market is highly selective. We have been a private equity investor for 17 years. Our longstanding, stable relationships with managers in Europe and the USA ensure that we also have access to many access-restricted funds”, explains Jeremy Golding, Founder and Managing Partner of GCP. “We want to maintain this momentum with the successor fund ‘Golding Buyout 2018’.” Fundraising is planned to start in the second half of 2018.
Final closing of ‘Golding Infrastructure 2016’ at record volume
GCP is significantly consolidating its leading position in the infrastructure asset class with the investment strategy devised in 2012 and first introduced successfully with ‘Golding Infrastructure 2013’. The final fund volume for ‘Golding Infrastructure 2016’ is thus substantially higher than its original target of €600 million. Fundraising was brought to an early conclusion after just 13 months when the hard cap of €750 million was reached. “With a conservative strategy and a broadly diversified approach, we have tailored the infrastructure investment programme to the requirements of institutional investors. Their strong demand shows us that with our carefully structured portfolio, consisting of core and core-plus investments with a focus on current income, combined with profitable value-added projects, we have designed an attractive overall programme from a risk-return perspective", explains Dr. Matthias Reicherter, Head of Infrastructure at GCP. “With ‘Golding Infrastructure 2016’ as a proven investment concept, we were also able to acquire a large number of new clients for GCP, in addition to many existing investors. 48 per cent of the total volume comes from new relationships. Overall, more than 60 insurance companies, pension funds, cooperative and savings banks from German-speaking countries subscribed to ‘Golding Infrastructure 2016’”, adds Hubertus Theile-Ochel, Managing Partner of GCP.
First closing of ‘Golding Infrastructure Co-Investment 2016’ confirms innovation leadership
GCP is one of the first providers in Europe to launch a dedicated multi-manager, coinvestment fund for institutional investors. By first close, GCP had already reached nearly 70 per cent of its target volume of €300 million. GCP defines the target return for its infrastructure investment programme as 10 per cent net IRR. “For the investment selection we can rely on our team’s long-standing direct investment expertise”, explains Jeremy Golding. “As an experienced infrastructure fund investor with around three billion euros under management, we have a broad portfolio of active investments and a dependable network of fund managers. Both are a source of steady deal flow for attractive co-investment opportunities”, adds Dr. Matthias Reicherter. “Strong demand from institutional investors is a clear indication that with ‘Golding Infrastructure CoInvestment 2016’ we have filled a real gap in the market”, confirms Hubertus TheileOchel. “We offer investors the returns of a direct fund at the same time as much broader diversification. That was particularly compelling for investors seeking to supplement their existing infrastructure portfolio with high-yield projects from Europe and North America.” The infrastructure co-investment fund is open for commitments until the end of 2018.
