Allianz GI holds first close at €270m for European infra debt

Allianz Global Investors has held a first close on its latest European infrastructure debt vehicle at €270 million.

The Allianz Euro Core Infrastructure Debt Fund has a €500 million target and is raising money from investors looking to make smaller commitments to infrastructure debt.

Allianz said the fund has been backed by a broad range of institutional clients, with particular interest from those in Germany, France and Ireland. It is aimed at investors that prefer smaller ticket sizes in infrastructure debt and the fund will co-invest alongside Allianz’s separately managed account customers.

The fund will target core infrastructure sectors across Europe, including transport, regulated utilities and renewables.

It will offer a pooled euro investment option alongside Allianz’s existing pooled sterling vehicles, which have invested in infrastructure debt alongside large SMAs since 2014. The fund looks to deliver stable cashflows for clients and has targeted annual returns of 3 percent.

Allianz did not specify a target investment size, which is said would depend on the investment pipeline. It hopes to reach its €500m target and hold a final close within the next 12 months.

Allianz now has more than €13 billion of assets under management in infrastructure debt, which forms a key part of its €70 billion alternative investments pillar.