AlbaCore and MUFG launch European infrastructure debt platform

AlbaCore Capital Group and MUFG Bank have launched a European infrastructure debt platform for global investors.

As part of the platform, AlbaCore will launch a new high-yield infrastructure credit strategy after securing seed funding from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (Trust Bank), a member of MUFG.

According to both firms, the platform will offer both investment-grade and high-yield strategies.

Both MUFG and AlbaCore will jointly shape the direction of the platform, with AlbaCore, as manager of the funds, retaining full independence in asset selection and portfolio management on behalf of investors.

“Working together, AlbaCore and MUFG Bank will draw on a rich pool of expertise and resources to deliver compelling solutions to investors, underpinned by a specialised, experienced industry-leading investment team,” said David Allen, managing partner and chief investment officer at AlbaCore. “Securing commitments from the Trust Bank for the first vintage of the infrastructure high yield strategy is a testament to the attractiveness of this opportunity set to investors and is pivotal in helping to bring innovative projects to market.”

AlbaCore is a European alternative credit manager with $10.4bn (£7.8bn) in assets under management, while MUFG Bank is Japan’s premier bank. MUFG said the partnership adds a new external distribution channel for structured finance deals for the bank.

“This partnership is designed to unlock attractive risk-adjusted returns by addressing a structural financing gap in UK and European infrastructure, a sector underpinned by long-term global macro trends,” said Fumitaka Nakahama, global head of the global corporate and investment banking business group at MUFG. “In combining MUFG and AlbaCore’s expertise, we hope to help unlock the debt pipeline needed to advance the infrastructure of the future.”