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Energy
Attero owns two energy from waste (‘EfW’) plants, two sorting and pre-treatment facilities, six anaerobic digestion facilities, seven composting facilities and 10 landfills. The company processes waste from a diverse mix of domestic municipalities, commercial and industrial customers, as well as a number of UK and Irish exporters.
Attero has good revenue visibility due to its long-term contracts with customers. It is well positioned within the Dutch market with two of the largest and most efficient EfW plants in the country, strategically positioned with good port, road and rail access for both import and domestic waste supply. In addition, Attero is strongly positioned to benefit from favourable underlying trends in the European waste market, driven by EU directives targeting more recycling.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Transport & logistics
BCA is a small regional airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland, located ten minutes by car from Belfast city centre In 2016 it served 2.7m inbound and outbound passengers. Its focus is domestic routes operated by scheduled carriers, serving business as well as leisure customers.
Currently four scheduled carriers (Flybe, British Airways, Aer Lingus and Eastern Airways) serve 17 domestic routes, including London Heathrow and London City. A small part of BCA’s traffic is international: Aer Lingus currently serves four sun routes (although this is due to drop to two) over the summer months; KLM serves Amsterdam; and Icelandair flies to Reykjavik.
Aeronautical revenues (airport charges) are not subject to economic regulation. Commercial revenues are generated principally from car parking, royalties on retail, food and beverage, car hire spend, rental income (lounges and offices) and advertising space.
Over 1,000 people are employed on the site, but only c.70 of those are employed by BCA. Many activities are outsourced (e.g. security, facilities management, air traffic control); and others are provided by third parties on-site (e.g. retail, food and beverage operations and ground handling). Fire services, maintenance, advertising, car parking and administration / management are the main activities that remain in-house.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Communications
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.
In June 2021, 3i Infrastructure plc invested c.€182m to acquire a 60% stake in DNS:NET.
Fibre is superior to other broadband access technologies because it provides reliable low latency, high bandwidth and distance-independent connectivity for both download and upload. Demand for FTTH connectivity is forecast to grow rapidly, as consumers normalise data intensive activities such as cloud-based remote working, high definition streaming and online gaming, and increasingly view high speed broadband as an essential service.
Germany lags behind most European countries in its FTTH deployment, with only 14% coverage today compared to the European average of 33%. The market is projected to grow at 30% p.a. to meet the German government’s objective of every one of its 43 million households having access to gigabit speed broadband by 2025.
Energy
ESP is an independent gas transporter (“iGT”) and independent electricity network operator (“iDNO”) providing the ‘last mile’ of connection between properties (predominantly residential, but also industrial and commercial) and the gas and electricity distribution networks.
It focuses on being an ‘independent asset owner’. It acquires (bids for) gas and electricity connections from ‘utility infrastructure providers’ (“UIP”), who have themselves designed and installed the connections for property developers. ESP is then responsible for maintaining the connections going forward and receives a regulated revenue stream for each connection from the gas and electricity companies who charge the end customer as part of their overall gas or electricity bill. Price regulation for both gas and electricity connections is based on the regimes of the gas and electricity distribution companies. Regulation is overseen by Ofgem.
Today ESP owns over 500,000 connections and has an order book for 200,000 more, making it the second largest iGT/iDNO in the UK. ESP also has a domestic metering business (representing almost one quarter of its revenues). Charges for meters are unregulated.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Social Infrastructure
EC Waste is the largest vertically integrated provider of solid waste services in Puerto Rico.
With locations throughout the island, EC Waste provides multiple waste services to over 80,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company operates four well-located, U.S. EPA permitted disposal sites, which enables EC Waste to serve all of Puerto Rico in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. Additionally, the company manages two transfer stations, runs the island’s largest regulated, solid waste collections network and hosts what will be Puerto Rico’s largest renewable natural gas collection project at its El Coqui facility.
3i Group invested in EC Waste in November 2021.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Energy
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 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 c.1,100 people and owns a fleet of c.40 vessels.
The wind service operation vessels ("SOVs") segment is the primary driver of growth for the business where ESVAGT is the market leader. In the North Sea, ESVAGT has committed to five new contract backed SOVs since our acquisition.
Internationally, ESVAGT is developing its focus on the US wind market, where it is preparing to support the expansion strategy of its European customers. ESVAGT is in discussions with the shipyard contracted to supply new SOVs, which is experiencing financial difficulties. We do not expect this to result in a material impact on ESVAGT's ability to fulfil its contractual obligations.
In the emergency rescue and response ("ERRV") segment, stabilising supply/demand dynamics allowed ESVAGT's management to successfully implement its strategy of improving contract coverage for the fleet. However, we anticipate that the recent drop in oil prices will impact ERRV demand in 2020 and negatively affect ESVAGT's spot business.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Utilities
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.
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.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Communications
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.
In November 2021, 3i Infrastructure plc agreed to invest c.$512m to acquire a 100% stake in GCX. Additional acquisition debt was raised in March 2022, reducing 3i Infrastructure plc's equity commitment to $377m. The investment completed in September 2022.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Utilities
Herambiente is the Italian leader in the waste treatment and disposal sector. The company owns and operates a portfolio of c.80 waste treatment facilities, mostly located in the Emilia Romagna. The plants include landfills, waste to energy plants, anaerobic digestion and other waste sorting facilities.
Herambiente’s revenues originate primarily from waste treatment and disposal and from sale of the resulting by-products, including electricity from incineration, biogas from landfills and recycled materials. In 2016, Herambiente treated c. 1.7m tons of urban waste, 4.7m tons of special waste and produced 161,455,167kWh of electricity.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Utilities
Infinis is the largest generator of electricity from landfill gas in the UK, with a portfolio of 121 landfill sites and total installed capacity of over 300MW.
The business has performed well operationally and financially since our acquisition in December 2016, although long-term power price forecasts have decreased. As expected in our investment case, Infinis was a strong contributor to the Company’s income in the period, counter-balancing some other growth-orientated businesses in the portfolio.
Good progress has been made identifying opportunities to exploit the business’s spare engine and grid connection capacity. Together with the management team, we are reviewing projects in non-landfill gas generation activities, with 30MW of reserve power generation now under development. The Company has agreed to provide further equity of £12 million to support these projects.
In August 2017, Infinis appointed Tony Cocker as Chairman of the Board and Scott Longhurst as Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee. Tony was previously CEO of E.ON UK. Scott is currently Group Finance Director at AWG and Managing Director of AWG’s non-regulated business.
In March 2018, 3i Infrastructure plc announced a follow-on investment of c. £125 million to fund Infinis’s acquisition of Alkane Energy, an independent power generator from both coal mine methane and Reserve Power operations and the largest generator from CMM in the UK.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Social Infrastructure
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 11 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.
3i Infrastructure acquired Ionisos in September 2019, having committed to invest in July 2019.
Energy
Joulz is a leading owner and provider of essential energy infrastructure equipment and services in the Netherlands. It leases essential energy infrastructure equipment and meters to a large and diversified customer base of industrial, commercial and public sector customers. It has two business units: Infrastructure Services and Metering.
The Infrastructure Services business owns and leases medium voltage electricity infrastructure such as transformers, switchgear and cables under long-term contracts. The Metering business owns and leases approximately 50,000 electricity and gas meters for non-household customers under medium term contracts.
3i Infrastructure acquired Joulz in April 2019, having committed to invest in March 2019.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
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Transport & logistics
Oystercatcher is the holding company through which 3i Infrastructure holds a 45% interest in Oiltanking Singapore Limited.
Oiltanking 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.
Our terminal continued to perform well as one of the leading gasoline blending terminals in Singapore and the wider region. The outlook for oil demand in the Asia Pacific region remains more positive than Europe’s, particularly driven by rising car ownership in Asia.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.
Transport & logistics
Formed in 2007, Regional Rail provides freight transportation, car storage, and transloading services in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware across three railroads and over 155 miles of track connecting to a diversified Class 1 railroad network.
In 2018, the company moved over 13,000 carloads while serving over 70 customers across a diversified set of end-user markets including heating, fuel blending, agriculture, chemicals, and metals. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Diamondback Signal, is the premier provider of rail-crossing installation and maintenance services to over 100 short-line rail customers across 20 states.
In October 2019, Regional Rail acquired Pinsly Railroad Company’s Florida operations adding 208 miles of track across three short-line railroads.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Transport & logistics
Headquartered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Smarte Carte is a leading supplier and manager of vended equipment in the travel and leisure industry. The company owns and manages baggage carts as the sole provider in 125 locations (including 49 of the top 50 airports in the U.S.). The company also owns and manages lockers and other consumer-rental equipment in amusement parks, fitness clubs, shopping malls and ski resorts.
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation, a US wholly owned subsidiary of 3i Group.
Transport & logistics
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.
3i Infrastructure acquired SRL in December 2021.
