Overview

Belfast City Airport (“BCA”) is strategically located just 5 minutes from Belfast city centre, providing essential connectivity between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. In 2023, BCA served 2.1 million passengers, underscoring its importance to the region.

Unlike many regional UK airports, BCA’s demand for air travel is more resilient to economic fluctuations. This is due to a higher proportion of business travellers, government officials and individuals visiting friends and family, rather than being primarily dependent on leisure travel.

BCA is serviced by six scheduled airlines - British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Aer Lingus Regional (operated by Emerald Airlines), EasyJet, KLM and Loganair - operating over 20 routes, including major destinations like London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London City, Edinburgh and Schiphol. While the majority of routes are domestic, BCA also offers flights to international destinations such as Palma, Alicante and Barcelona.

The airport’s aeronautical revenues, derived from charges to airlines, are not subject to economic regulation. BCA’s commercial revenue streams include car parking, retail royalties, food and beverage sales, car hire, rental income and advertising.

With over 1,000 people working on-site, only around 80 are directly employed by BCA. Many services, including security, facilities management, and air traffic control, are outsourced, while retail, food and beverage, and ground handling are managed by third parties. BCA retains in-house responsibility for fire services, maintenance, advertising, car parking and administration.

Investment rationale

• Belfast City Airport is a vital infrastructure asset for Northern Ireland, offering essential air links to the UK mainland. Air travel plays a crucial role in the region’s economy, facilitating business travel, tourism and personal travel for residents. With limited surface transport options to the UK mainland, the island's population has a high propensity to fly, reinforcing the importance of these connections.
• BCA’s strong demand base is supported by its close proximity to Northern Ireland’s capital and business hub. The airport also offers a clear advantage in terms of speed and convenience over other airports on the island.
• The airport’s strategic importance was further emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic when it received UK Government funding to remain operational, ensuring continued connectivity between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
  
  

Recent developments

• BCA has increased its resilience by diversifying its airline portfolio and expanding its route network in response to the collapse of Flybe and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Passenger numbers have recovered and are expected to surpass 2019 levels in 2025.
• Sustainability remains a key focus for BCA. The airport has nearly halved its operational carbon emissions since 2017, achieving Platinum Status in the Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey for four consecutive years. Additionally, BCA has been purchasing 100% green electricity since 2013.
• Significant investments have also been made in upgrading the terminal’s commercial offerings and installing next-generation security equipment, reinforcing BCA’s commitment to improving the overall customer experience.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

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

DNS:NET received investment of £34 million during the year from 3iN to continue the development of its FTTH network in areas around Berlin and in the State of Brandenburg. A new CEO joined DNS:NET in July 2023. He has overseen the preparation of an updated business plan that was agreed with shareholders in December 2023. We are making good progress in building a strengthened and experienced management team.

FTTH network rollouts in Germany remain challenging. Passing homes has been the industry’s primary focus to date. Connecting and activating customers to the network on a timely basis is an industry-wide challenge. The negative value movement in the year was driven by more conservative business plan assumptions for DNS:NET’s FTTH rollout. Throughout the year, DNS:NET has focused on connecting backbone fibre infrastructure and home connections for its owned network, as well as on securing the handover of leased networks built by authorities in the neighbouring State of Saxony-Anhalt, making good progress in the number of its connected and activated customers as a result.

The company is now preparing for the next stages in its network delivery in a way that narrows the time lag between passing homes and connecting and activating customers on that FTTH network to improve performance. We have increased the discount rate to reflect uncertainties over available debt pricing for fibre businesses in future years and the delay against the original rollout timetable.

Overview

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 one million live connections and has a further 250,000 committed in its order book, 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.

Investment rationale

• ESP operates under an established and proven regulatory framework that drives stable and high quality cash flow generation
• Significant growth is forecast from the demand for new UK housing. The financial crisis led to a number of years of low levels of new builds, which exacerbated the shortage of supply versus demand
• ESP does not undertake installation works and so does not compete with the UIPs. This lack of conflict of interest enables it to be a preferred acquirer of assets and to focus on customer service as it is a neutral host. This gives it a competitive advantage against other players in the connections market

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

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.

Investment rationale

3i Group invested in EC Waste in November 2021.

• The company has enough capacity to serve all of Puerto Rico’s needs for decades ahead as communities and businesses consider moving away from non-compliant providers towards U.S. EPA permitted, fully compliant waste disposal options
• The company has a proven track record of providing top-tier services to the communities it operates in across the island
• EC Waste has made significant investments into its infrastructure and operations technology to improve performance and position the company for future growth
• There is significant opportunity to grow the company’s sustainable waste practices, such as its renewable natural gas collection activities

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation.

Overview

Headquartered in Esbjerg, Denmark, ESVAGT is the market leader in the fast-growing segment of service operation vessels (“SOV”) for the offshore wind industry. The Company is also 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.

ESVAGT is the pioneer and market leader in the provision of SOVs to offshore wind farms, with nine bespoke vessels in operation and a further four 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.

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 has been operating since 1981, employs over 1,100 people and owns a fleet of more than 43 vessels.

Recent developments

ESVAGT performed well in the year, benefitting from strong contract rates and high utilisation levels. As the clear market leader in European offshore wind SOV provision, ESVAGT currently operates nine vessels. A further four SOVs are under construction, specifically designed to serve long-term charter agreements, and construction progress is on track. Despite inflationary pressure causing delays and cancellations in wind farm development, regulators and governments have become more supportive of incentivising growth in offshore wind.

Inflation, while negatively impacting the construction cost of the near-term pipeline, has a positive effect on ESVAGT due to its index-linked contracts, which enhance the value of its operational SOV fleet. The offshore wind market remains on a positive trajectory and this is reflected in the pipeline for additional new SOVs in the North Sea and the rapidly expanding US wind market. Over the next 12 months, we anticipate several tenders to take place.

ESVAGT’s ERRV segment also maintained positive momentum, driven by favourable supply/demand dynamics, and an increased emphasis on security of supply in Europe.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

Future Biogas is one of the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant developers and biogas producers in the UK. It owns two AD plants with one further AD plant in construction, and operates 10 AD plants mainly on behalf of institutional investors under medium-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.

Recent developments

Future Biogas performed in line with expectations due to good services revenues and index-linked contracts. The company has a promising pipeline of organic growth and M&A opportunities.

During the year, Future Biogas signed a new 15-year gas supply agreement with AstraZeneca (‘AZ’) for unsubsidised green gas. To deliver this green gas, it is constructing the UK’s first unsubsidised AD plant. In September 2023, 3iN invested £35 million to fund the plant’s construction, which will supply 100GWh of biomethane to AZ’s UK sites.

In November 2023, 3iN invested a further £30 million to fund the acquisition of two AD plants that Future Biogas was already managing. These strategic investments continue to transition Future Biogas from a manager of third-party biogas plants to a leading developer, asset owner and operator. The company is actively exploring viable sites for constructing new AD plants, and the interest from high-quality corporate partners is encouraging.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

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

GCX has shown strong year-on-year growth in lease revenues and has recently signed several large bulk capacity deals on its Middle East and intra-Asia subsea routes. Financial performance was held back by a high level of cable cuts which have now been repaired. The sales pipeline is healthy and demand for subsea data capacity continues to grow, driven by increasing adoption of AI applications and substantial investments in capacity and route diversification by the hyperscalers.

Looking ahead, GCX is evaluating several attractive growth opportunities, for example, acquiring new subsea capacity and developing new edge data centres near its cable landing stations that will drive additional data on its subsea network.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

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.

Investment rationale

• Strong market position in its home region of Emilia Romagna and more broadly in Northern and Central Italy
• The large plants portfolio provides technology diversification and exposure to increased recycling across Europe
• The highly fragmented market offers significant consolidation opportunities
• The expertise and environmental permits required to build new facilities provide significant barriers to entry

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

Infinis is the UK’s leading generator of low carbon power from captured methane. The business captures methane gas from landfill sites and disused mines and converts it into electricity. Its sustainable energy expertise also includes solar power and battery energy storage technology. This work helps to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change and provides secure, efficient local power generation.

Infinis’s cashflows are positively correlated with UK inflation through the Government-backed Renewables Obligations Certificate (ROC) and CfD regimes and through index-linked corporate PPAs. Infinis’ current generation portfolio comprises:

• Captured methane: 255 MW across 104 sites
• Solar: 103 MW across 4 sites
• Flexible generation: 173 MW across 29 sites

This unique combination of green baseload power, renewable assets and flexible generation mean Infinis is ideally placed to respond to growing electricity demand, increasing energy market volatility and to play a key role in the UK’s route to decarbonisation and greenhouse gas reduction.

Recent developments

Infinis had a strong financial performance despite lower UK power prices. It generated a value gain of £20 million as its captured landfill methane business outperformed expectations, compensating for lower margins from its power response assets. Furthermore, Infinis is making significant progress in developing its 1.4GW solar energy generation and battery storage pipeline, with 103MW of solar capacity already operational.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

Ionisos is a leading owner and operator of cold sterilisation facilities servicing the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Established in 1993 in France, Ionisos is one of the largest cold sterilisation providers globally and operates a network of 11 facilities in Europe with market leading positions in France and Spain. It has over 250 employees and a highly diversified customer base of around 1,000 customers.

Ionisos delivers a mission-critical, non-discretionary service for customers, 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 

Ionisos performed below expectations due to reduced bio-processing and labware volumes, which have returned to pre-Covid levels, and weaker demand in markets connected to the construction industry which represents a small share of treatment capacity. However, the majority of product categories sterilised by Ionisos continue to exhibit strong volume growth. Ionisos is making progress in its growth initiatives. The expansion of its new greenfield EO plant in Kleve, Germany is progressing and the development of the new X-ray greenfield facility in north east France is proceeding according to schedule and within budget.

Overview

Joulz is a leading owner and provider of essential energy infrastructure equipment and services in the Netherlands. Joulz serves approximately 21,000 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 in line with expectations. It is benefitting from its inflation-linked longterm contracts and the completion of new installations. Joulz has seen significant interest in integrated energy transition solutions from customers seeking to decarbonise their operations and overcome constraints due to electricity grid congestion.

Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

Oystercatcher is the holding company through which 3i Infrastructure 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 

Oystercatcher performed well in the year. Advario Singapore, which is 45% owned by Oystercatcher, benefitted from high utilisation levels for its storage capacity, high customer activity levels and higher rates being secured at contract renewal. Whilst the oil products market remains in backwardation, a tight storage market in Singapore and the wider region provided a helpful backdrop to renewal discussions. Advario Singapore remains the leading gasoline blending facility in Singapore and the wider region.

The company has continued to pursue opportunities linked to sustainable fuels, in line with its sustainability strategy. Building on its success to date with Neste, which is blending sustainable aviation fuel (‘SAF’) at Advario Singapore, the terminal had actively looked to expand its role in activities to supply sustainable transport fuels.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.

Overview

Formed in 2007, Regional Rail provides freight transportation, car storage and transloading services across the U.S. and western Canada, spanning over 875 miles of track connecting to a diversified Class 1 railroad network. 

Since 3i’s initial investment in 2019, Regional Rail has grown from three railroads in the Northeast to seventeen freight railroad operations located across North America. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Diamondback Signal, is the premier provider of rail-crossing installation and maintenance services to short-line and industrial customers in the U.S.

In 2023, Regional Rail transported over 65,000 carloads while serving customers across a diversified set of end-user markets including food & agriculture, chemicals, aggregates, heating, fuel blending, lumber, and metals. 

Recent developments 

• Acquired three railroads in Florida - Florida Central Railroad, Florida Midland Railroad and Florida Northern Railroad (2020) 
• Acquired Carolina Coastal Railway in North Carolina (2020) 
• Acquired three railroads across Illinois and Ohio - Effingham Railroad, Illinois Western Railroad and South Point & Ohio Railroad (2022) 
• Acquired a portfolio of railroads across Western Canada, including Great Sandhills Railway (2022) 
• Acquired Clinton Terminal Railroad in North Carolina (2023) 
• Acquired two railroads across Indiana and Ohio - Indiana Eastern Railroad and Ohio South Central Railroad (2023) 
• Acquired Cincinnati Eastern Railroad in Ohio (2024) 
• Expanded network of freight rail operations by entering into long-term contracts to provide the rail operations at SeaPort Manatee and Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor 
• Executed on several growth projects, constructing additional trackage on company property to organically grow volumes with major customers under long-term take-or-pay agreements
• Improved safety culture and performance for the company, resulting in declining injury and derailment rates even as the platform has expanded 
• Joined the U.S. EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration that provides a framework to assess environmental and energy efficiency of goods movement supply chains 

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation.

Overview

Headquartered in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Smarte Carte has been revolutionising self-service solutions since 1970, providing its customers with convenient products like luggage solutions, secure storage, mobility, and massage chairs across more than 3,400 locations worldwide.

Within the air travel sector, Smarte Carte provides its services at over 300 airports globally, including 98 of the top 100 airports in the U.S. The company's products can also be found in amusement parks, fitness clubs, shopping malls, ski resorts and U.S. post offices.

Recent developments 

• Expanded international footprint through the successful start of operations at London Heathrow Airport, Dublin Airport, Oslo Airport, Darwin International Airport and others
• Executed synergistic bolt-on acquisitions with the purchase of Aviation Mobility, a provider of legally mandated mobility equipment for special assistance passengers at airports, and Feel Good Chairs, a leading concessionaire of vended services at retail shopping locations
• Broadened relationship with the United States Postal Service to provide lockers to c.1,000 post offices as part of a larger-scale rollout that includes other infrastructure service offerings across the national USPS footprint
• Invested in the development of new product offerings to accelerate growth with existing and new customers and technology improvements to enhance the customer experience and better manage operations
• Navigated a transformational period for the company during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain profitability and position for, and deliver, growth as travel rebounded
• Introduced the company to the infrastructure lender market and achieved several successful rounds of financing on attractive terms

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Corporation. 

Overview

SRL is the market leading temporary traffic equipment (“TTE”) rental company in the UK. 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 national depot network, providing a 24/7, 365 days a year service on which customers rely for quick deployment and reactive maintenance work.

Recent developments 

SRL performed slightly behind expectations during the financial year. There has been a reduction in general market activity levels due to delays in capital expenditure programmes within the public sector in advance of the UK general election, and in the telecom sector as the fibre rollout has slowed.

Despite this challenging market environment, SRL has shown resilience and continued to grow its revenue and EBITDA. It has also been successful in extending contract durations with customers, providing better revenue visibility.

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 performed extremely well in the year, generating a value gain of £54 million. It exceeded revenue and EBITDA targets, driven by increased offshore activity and stronger demand for bandwidth upgrades.

Tampnet is continuing to expand its network infrastructure by pursuing new fibre projects in both the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Notably, Tampnet secured significant new contracts in these regions.

Digitalisation of the offshore energy sector is gaining momentum and Tampnet’s digitisation proposition, which combines low-latency connectivity with services such as private networks, is generating considerable interest.

Tampnet’s private networks offer a secure, closed 4G/5G system deployed on offshore platforms, providing robust connectivity and enhanced security compared to traditional Wi-Fi solutions.

Furthermore, Tampnet is actively engaged in carbon capture and offshore wind projects within its existing network in the North Sea. The business was awarded its first offshore carbon sequestration connection in March 2024. The potential for further comparable initiatives is substantial and Tampnet is strategically positioned to contribute to their success.

Regulatory information 
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.