Current portfolio

Overview

DNS:NET is a leading independent telecommunications provider in Germany. Established in 1998, DNS:NET owns the largest independent fibre-to-the-cabinet network in the Berlin area and is rolling out a fibre-to-the home network in Berlin and the surrounding regions.

The company differentiates itself through a superior network, local brand recognition and attractive pricing of high bandwidth products, which drives high customer satisfaction. 3i Infrastructure’s backing will allow DNS:NET to accelerate its build programme to provide gigabit-ready connectivity to its customers. 

Recent Developments

In line with our business plan, in December 2022, 3iN invested a further €18 million into DNS:NET in support of its continued FTTH roll-out. DNS:NET, like many players across the sector, has experienced delays in connecting and activating waiting customers on its network. It has also experienced delays in the handover of local authority constructed networks that it will then operate. We have updated our forecasts to reflect these delays.

In January 2023, Andre Mueller was appointed as CFO. He brings a wealth of experience as a senior finance professional across a range of sectors. Work has also been undertaken during the year to further strengthen the management team, with further recruitment expected to be announced in the summer.

_{Note:  FTTH: Fibre-to-the-home.} 

Overview

Headquartered in Esbjerg, Denmark, ESVAGT is a leading provider of emergency rescue and response vessels (“ERRV”) and related services to the offshore energy industry in and around the North Sea and the Barents Sea. The company is also the market leader in the fast growing segment of service operation vessels (“SOV”) for the offshore wind industry. 

Its ERRV services mainly involve the rescue and recovery of personnel, but also include the dispersion and recovery of oil spills, crew transfers and towing. ESVAGT is the leading provider of ERRV services in Denmark and Norway, with market shares of approximately 100% and 50%, respectively, as well as an established and growing presence in the UK. The majority of ESVAGT’s ERRV revenues are associated with North Sea oil and gas production support, with the remainder generated by supporting exploration activity.

ESVAGT is also the pioneer and market leader in the provision of SOVs to offshore wind farms, with seven bespoke vessels in operation and a further two under construction. SOVs are purpose-built, high performance vessels, providing efficient transport of maintenance technicians to wind turbines and other offshore wind equipment, under long term contracts. The offshore wind market, and hence demand for SOVs, is expected to grow strongly over the coming years, creating significant opportunities for the company.

ESVAGT has been operating since 1981, employs over 1,000 people and owns a fleet of more than 43 vessels. 

Recent developments

ESVAGT has established a leading position in the offshore wind service operation vessels (‘SOV’) market. Its US joint venture, CREST, signed its first contract, a 15-year availability-based agreement with Siemens Gamesa servicing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Windfarm. This win positions ESVAGT very well as the near-term pipeline grows in the region. In Europe, a number of tenders will take place over the next 12 months and ESVAGT is expecting to benefit from its recent win of the first green SOV for Ørsted in 2022.

The EERV segment continues to see strong momentum due to the improved oil and gas markets, attractive supply / demand dynamics and an increased focus on security of supply in Europe due to the war in Ukraine. ESVAGT has benefited from these attractive market conditions to extend several key contracts.

Inflation is generally positive for ESVAGT due to its index-linked contracts, however cost inflation, in particular fuel costs, has accelerated faster than expected in the period

Overview

Future Biogas is one of the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant developers and biogas producers in the UK, operating 11 AD plants on behalf of institutional investors under long-term contracts.

Future Biogas’s plants convert a wide range of feedstocks into clean and renewable energy through AD which produces biogas. Biogas can either be used to generate green electricity, or upgraded into biomethane and injected into the UK’s national gas network. Future Biogas produces over 500GWh of biogas per year, enough energy for over 40,000 homes.

Biomethane from AD is a ready-to-use and commercially-viable solution for hard to decarbonise industrial sectors. It does not require any upgrade to the existing UK gas infrastructure. Energy produced by AD plants is carbon neutral, as the CO2 released during the process matches the CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere by the feedstock.

Future Biogas promotes a regenerative farming approach, sustainably integrating feedstock from energy crops into agricultural systems. The circular process of returning digestate back to land can help replenish soil nutrients and carbon and displaces demand for carbon intensive artificial fertilisers.

Investment rationale

• Future Biogas is the largest producer of biomethane in the nascent UK market and a highly experienced developer and operator of AD plants, with full-service capabilities in development, construction and operations.
• There is strong political support and growing corporate demand for domestically-produced biomethane, which, as a direct substitute for fossil natural gas, has an essential role to play in decarbonising some of the UK’s gas dependent sectors such as heat, transport and manufacturing.
• On a national scale, the use of biomethane (vs. natural gas) allows the existing gas infrastructure to help meet the UK Government’s Net Zero and energy security targets without any change to the existing system.
• Future Biogas will develop a new generation of unsubsidised AD plants and sell the resulting biomethane under long-term offtake agreements to corporate buyers.
• In the longer term, Future Biogas intends to enter the nascent but high potential voluntary carbon offset market through carbon capture and storage.
• Future Biogas has a highly experienced management team with a strong track record in the sector.

Overview

Global Cloud Xchange (“GCX”) is a leading global data communications service provider and owner of one of the world’s largest private subsea fibre optic networks. The business provides high-bandwidth connectivity to a range of customers including over-the-top content providers, telecom carriers, new media providers and enterprises.

GCX’s 66,000km of cables span from North America to Asia. It is particularly strong on the Europe-Asia and Intra-Asia routes where it is well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities and serve the exponentially growing demand for data traffic.

Recent developments

Since our acquisition, the business is performing in line with expectations; lease revenues have grown strongly as the business prioritises recurring revenues over one-off cash IRU sales.

GCX is currently examining several opportunities to invest in new cables in the Middle East which would provide synergies with its existing network.

Overview

Infinis is the largest generator of electricity from landfill gas (“LFG”) in the UK, with a portfolio of more than 150 operational sites and total installed capacity of over 400MW.

Alkane Energy acquisition

In March 2018, the Company announced its intention to increase its investment in Infinis by £125 million to fund Infinis’s acquisition of Alkane Energy (‘Alkane’), an independent power generator from both coal mine methane (‘CMM’) and reserve power (‘Peaking’) operations and the largest generator of electricity from CMM in the UK.

Recent developments

Financial performance at Infinis was strong in the year, driven by higher power prices and price volatility which benefitted the power response assets in particular. Infinis’s cashflows are positively correlated with UK inflation through index-linked corporate PPAs and the Government-backed Renewables Obligations Certificate and CfD regimes.

Infinis has made significant progress establishing a 1.5GW solar and battery pipeline across various stages of development. 103MW of Solar and 16 MW of Battery are currently under construction and on schedule to start generating by summer 2023, which will bring Infinis’s operational asset base to over 550MW. Higher development capex has been offset by a corresponding increase in long-term forecast power prices.

Overview

Ionisos is a leading owner and operator of cold sterilisation facilities servicing the medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Established in 1993 in Civrieux, France, Ionisos is the third largest cold sterilisation provider globally and operates a network of 10 facilities in Europe with market leading positions in France and Spain. It has over 200 employees and a highly diversified customer base of more than 1,000 customers.

Ionisos delivers a mission-critical, non-discretionary service for the medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries for whom cold sterilisation is an essential component of the manufacturing process. It is typically applied to single use products that would be damaged by the heat and/or humidity of hot sterilisation methods.

Recent developments

Performance at Ionisos continues to be strong, with EBITDA growth exceeding expectations on the back of continuous strong demand in the medical and pharmaceutical markets, more than offsetting a downturn in the German cable industry. Inflation also remains a positive tailwind.

In order to meet this fast-growing demand, Ionisos has made good progress on a number of growth projects. It acquired a facility in Switzerland from an industrial company, it started operations of a new plant in Kleve, Germany, in January 2023 (on budget and with additional customers beyond the anchor client), and it is actively considering further greenfield expansion plans in both new and existing locations.

Overview

Joulz is a leading owner and provider of essential energy infrastructure equipment and services in the Netherlands. Joulz serves approximately 20,000 industrial, commercial, and public sector clients with its solutions, that encompass realization, maintenance, management, and leasing of energy infrastructure equipment.

Joulz’ service offering includes mid-voltage infrastructure (owning and leasing transformers, switchgear and cables under long-term contracts), storage (owning and leasing large scale battery storage systems under mid- to long-term contracts), solar (large-scale installations under operational lease or with government-subsidized PPAs), metering (owning and leasing 50,000 electricity and gas meters under mid-term contracts) and EV charging (AC and DC charge points in mid-term exploitation, rental or CPO contracts). Additionally, it provides integrated solutions to address energy transition challenges such as grid congestion.

Recent developments

Joulz performed ahead of expectations in the year, with the Infrastructure Services business unit continuing to see strong market demand. In December 2022, the business raised further debt financing on attractive terms to replenish its revolving credit facility, which is used to fund growth capex.

During the year, as part of a planned transition, Sytse Zuidema was recruited as CEO. Sytse is an engineer by background and has experience successfully leading several fast-growing businesses.

Overview

Oystercatcher is the holding company through which the Company holds a 45% interest in Advario Singapore Limited (previously Oiltanking Singapore Limited).

Advario Singapore is a 1.3 million cubic metre facility focused on storage and blending of refined clear petroleum products for a range of blue chip customers. With a premier location, on Jurong Island, it is accessed by pipeline, sea going vessel and barge.

Oiltanking is one of the world’s leading independent storage partners for oils, chemicals and gases, operating 41 terminals in 18 countries with a total storage capacity of 16 million cubic metres.

Recent developments

Performance at Advario Singapore in the period was in line with expectations. The market for oil products continues to be backwardated, with future prices below current prices. However, strong activity levels resulted in high storage utilisation across the region which was supportive for good contract renewals in the period. Advario Singapore continues to be the premier gasoline blending terminal in Singapore and in the wider Asia Pacific region, and therefore commands good rates.

The strategic transition to some green fuel storage is progressing well. In 2022, a first agreement was signed with an anchor customer to start storing and blending sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”). The project is on track and is expected to be operational later in 2023. We believe this gives Advario Singapore a first mover advantage for SAF related business. During the period, a further contract has been agreed with a second customer for storing sustainable marine fuel.

Overview

SRL, which is headquartered in Cheshire, is the market leading temporary traffic equipment (“TTE”) rental company in the UK. SRL’s product range includes temporary traffic lights, adaptive detection systems, pedestrian and cyclist systems, variable messaging systems, barriers and CCTV. SRL offers its customers a full-service rental solution, which includes the planning and design of traffic management systems, installation, maintenance and integration with existing systems, as well as direct sales of equipment assembled by SRL.

SRL’s market-leading reputation is supported by its network of 28 depots nationwide, providing a 24/7 365 day a year service on which customers rely for quick deployment and reactive maintenance work.

Recent developments

SRL has performed broadly as expected during the financial year. Traffic light rental revenues are growing strongly at c.15% per annum despite activity levels being held back by lower roadworks budgets in H2 2022, resulting in lower days on hire than forecasted. EBITDA growth in the period has been supported by SRL’s strong market position and ability to increase prices in line with inflation.

We are working closely with management to professionalise account management processes and optimise fleet utilisation and build. Progress has also been made to engage directly with the end-promoters of roadworks and beyond SRL’s traditional customer base of traffic management companies.

Overview

Tampnet is the leading independent offshore communications network operator in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is headquartered in Norway, with operations in the UK, Scandinavia and the USA.

Tampnet provides high speed, low latency and resilient data connectivity offshore through an established and comprehensive network of fibre optic cables, 4G base stations, and microwave links. It operates across four main business areas: fixed installations, mobile rigs and vessels, roaming for offshore workers and international carriers. The majority of its business involves providing fixed fibre links to oil platforms.

Recent developments

Tampnet has performed well in the year, exceeding budgeted revenue and EBITDA targets thanks to increased offshore activity on the back of improved sentiment in the O&G markets, stronger demand for bandwidth upgrades and an increased focus on energy security by governments in Europe and the US.

Tampnet is marking good progress on growth projects across the business, including new platform connections in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea and in the offshore wind segment. The management is also in discussions with several carbon capture and storage projects in the North Sea which are all located within Tampnet’s existing network.

The Digitisation proposition offered by Tampnet (combining low latency connectivity with services such as Private Networks) is continuing to prove very popular with customers. The management team are confident that they will see an acceleration of the short-term penetration of Digitisation projects.

Overview

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, TCR is Europe’s largest independent asset manager of airport ground support equipment (“GSE”) and operates at more than 180 airports.

Since inception, TCR has defined the market for leased GSE, providing high quality assets and a full service leasing, maintenance and fleet management offering to its clients, which are predominantly independent ground handling companies, airlines and airports. This enables GSE operators to concentrate on their core business of ground handling. The GSE that TCR provides is critical infrastructure, without which some of Europe’s busiest airports could not operate.

Aerolima acquisition

In 2019, TCR acquired Aerolima, another lessor of GSE in France. The transaction added approximately 2,000 pieces of equipment, 20 airports and 12 workshops to TCR’s existing business.

Recent developments

Over the last 12 months, TCR’s activity increased significantly, materially surpassing pre-Covid levels. This outperformance reflects a sustained rebound of air traffic as well as an increased post-pandemic demand for full-rental GSE solutions globally: TCR added over 35 airports in 2022 and its off-lease rate has reverted to early 2019 levels.

Last November, following a bilateral process, TCR completed the acquisition of Adaptalift, a provider of GSE and associated maintenance services to the aviation industry across Australia, adding incremental EBITDA at an attractive valuation with strong expected synergies.

In parallel, TCR has signed important new contracts with flagship customers, which may lead to further sale-and-lease-back opportunities.

To support this strong growth, TCR successfully completed the refinancing of its existing RCF in January, raising €225 million of new debt facilities.

Overview

Valorem is a leading independent renewable energy development and operating company. It is one of the largest onshore wind developers in France, having developed over 600MW of capacity over the last 10 years.

The French power market is experiencing a major transition as it looks to reduce its reliance on nuclear generation and to increase generation from renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar. The energy transition has been continuously supported by the French governments over the past decade. With in-house capabilities across the entire project cycle and a strong local footprint, Valorem is well positioned to benefit from this shift in energy mix.

Recent developments

It has been a very strong year for Valorem, with significant EBITDA growth and an increase in total closed capacity of 270MW, to 778MW. The short-term negative impact of the energy windfall tax introduced by the French Government was partially offset by increased auction tariffs. Longer term, market fundamentals remain strong given the ongoing issues with nuclear power plants in the country. The pipeline of wind and solar projects continues to grow as expected.

Internationally, the construction of the Viiatti windfarm (313MW) is progressing to plan, with completion expected in 2024. The broader pipeline in Finland continues to mature well. In Greece, Valorem financed its first wind project during the period and is progressing well on further wind and solar opportunities.

Beyond its core business, Valorem is exploring further growth initiatives in the floating off-shore wind segment, making progress on its first green hydrogen project and the development of a battery storage pipeline.