Private markets: how do we tackle ESG issues?
How does abrdn deal with ESG concerns in private markets? We discuss our approach.
Concession Infrastructure
Over 20-years experience investing in social, economic and government infrastrucure projects.
Risk warning
The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and an investor may get back less than the amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future results.
Our approach
Scale
We are part of the abrdn brand which manages more than £18.8 billion of assets across private markets. This makes us part of one of the largest private markets investors in the world. In total, over £5.1 billion of infrastructure investments is managed on behalf of investors.*
*Source abrdn. As at 31 December 2020.
*Source abrdn. As at 31 December 2020.
Strategy
We focus on availability-based, partially inflation-linked cash flows with little or no correlation to economic cycles. Value resides in the contract, with limited risk associated with residual asset value.
We invest in hospitals, schools, roads, rolling stock, government accommodation, social housing, and waste and water in the UK, Europe, Australia, US, the Middle East and Latin America.
We invest in hospitals, schools, roads, rolling stock, government accommodation, social housing, and waste and water in the UK, Europe, Australia, US, the Middle East and Latin America.
Team
Established in 1998, our highly experienced team of 34 investment professionals have invested in over 120 infrastructure investments to date (May, 2019). The team is based in London, Edinburgh, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Sydney and Bogota.
Investors
Our investor base spans both public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies and family offices across the world.
Concession infrastructure portfolio
Transport
The Madrid Transit Hub is an investment into a special purpose vehicle which owns stakes in 3 operating PPP concessions to maintain and operate transport hubs in Madrid, Spain for a further 22 years. The hubs provide facilities for different types of urban transport (bus, metro, rail and car) for an average of 528,173 daily passengers commuting from the suburbs and within the city.
Social
Paris Justice Court is a PPP contract to design, build finance, maintain and operate a new Justice Court in Paris . The new Justice Court will house 90 courtrooms and is expected to be visited by 8,500 people daily. The Project Agreement is 32 years, including a 5 year construction period. The term of the operation period is fixed to 27 years.
Sector: Government
Geography: Paris, France
Project Size: €605m
Water Treatment
Mundaring Water Treatment Plant is the design, build, finance and operations of a new treatment plant near Perth, Western Australia. The plant will serve the Goldfields Agriculture region and will supply over 100,000 inhabitants with fresh water supply. The project has been successfully operating since 2013 and we have recently completed the first senior debt refinancing as planned for a further 5 year tenor.
Sector: Water Treatment
Geography: Perth, Australia
Project Size: A$ 400m
Key documents
Meet the team
Sameer Amin
Global Head of Concession Infrastructure
Sameer Amin is Global Head of Concession Infrastructure platform at abrdn. The abrdn Concession Infrastructure business represents USD 4bn in assets under management, deploying capital through a series of infrastructure funds investing in PFI/PPP projects across the OECD regions of the world. A team comprising of 31 investment professionals actively manage an underlying investment portfolio of in excess of 130 PPP projects. Sameer has considerable experience of investing and lending in the PFI/PPP arena, having personally led the team’s major initiatives with a wide range of sponsors and project developers. Sameer has personally overseen the international expansion of the business, leading to the organisation’s entry into geographies such as Australia and the USA. Sameer joined abrdn in May 2014 as part of the broader Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (“SWIP”) business acquisition. Prior to that time he held senior positions within Lloyds Banking Group (2009-2014) as a principal of the Infrastructure Funds business and as Head of Infrastructure Equity at Bank of Scotland (2001 – 2009). Sameer is a qualified chartered accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.